Lately I have found myself in arguments with two friends who refuse to look at politics because, in their own words, "they’re all crooks."
This is not uncommon. It is not uncommon in America. It is not uncommon elsewhere. Voter participation in elections is going down throughout the Western world. The exceptions are in new, emerging democracies, where people denied the right to be heard tend to take to the process with real enthusiasm.
There are three reasons for this:
- Corporate control of the money, the message, and the process of politics.
- Politicians who are dishonest, stupid, and get re-elected anyway.
- A popular culture that reinforces the idea that "they’re all crooks."
The plain fact is, not only aren’t all politicians not crooks, but most aren’t. Anyone who puts themselves forward, as a candidate for public office, is taking a giant leap of faith, and not all of them are cynics. Most believe in something (at least at first). It could be something big, or it could be something small. They may just believe in themselves. But they do believe in something.
As to the specific issues I have noted, all of them can be addressed:
- Explicitly fight through the political system against corporate control.
- Shine the light on dishonest politicians and get rid of them.
- Don’t believe the media. Run yourself.
Periods of political crisis, such as the one we are entering now, are often marked by increased participation, by new forces of belief, and by a reduction in cynicism about leaders and their motives.
This is not always apparent early-on in the crisis. The 1930-32 period
was a very depressing time, not just economically but politically and
in every other way. The "hope" we associate with the FDR era was mainly
found in retrospect, and was deliberately ginned-up from the center,
from Roosevelt and his government. Cynicism, in fact, was its chief
opponent.
The early years of the last U.S. political crisis, from 1966-68, was marked by
high idealism, especially on the part of young people, which was
deliberately stamped-out by the new people around Richard Nixon. Cynicism, in fact, is a
hallmark of the current political thesis, which finds many "they"
groups, and which has always accepted some dishonesty within its own
ranks in the name of the greater good — political victory.
In other words, the cynicism of people who say "they’re all crooks" is
a product of our time, and the political theses we have had drummed
into us from a very young age, maybe all our lives. The heart of this
"thesis period," the Reagan Administration, was all about false fronts,
phony idealism masking corporate and ideological greed.
Politically I have believed for some time that the chief weapon we must
fight and beat, as a people, is our own fear. We need to stop being
afraid of people who are themselves hiding in caves a half a world
away. We need to stop being afraid of one another.
But cynicism is the handmaiden of fear. It is cynicism that must be
fought, and beaten, before the War on Fear can begin. And cynicism can
only be fought on an individual level.
In other words, we have met the enemy and he is us.
