Most students at our university will have to deal with the American political system for years to come. That may dismay some of you, but it is the truth.
Though this election season has been brutal, there is light at the end of the tunnel; there is plenty of good going on in our political system today.
Rob Bell remarks that “if you shower, you are into politics.”
He asks all Americans to consider who gave them access to running water, who makes sure it is safe and who makes repairs to that system.
At a time of exceedingly low turnout in elections among college students, we need to acknowledge all the positive roles government fills in our lives so we can possibly shed some of our collective cynicism and take part in the progression of our political process.
Water is clearly a wonderful thing the government works to give all the citizens of our nation, but that is just the beginning. We drive on extensive road systems, use modern airports and enjoy safe travel on planes.
We know what is in our food and can eat without much concern of getting sick because of government regulations. If we do happen to get sick, we have emergency healthcare available to us.
We have firefighters, police officers and EMTs to keep us safe throughout our entire country. The poor have access to some financial aid, as do many university students. Many minority groups are being supported and protected by the government, not always because it is popular, but because it is the right thing to do.
I know almost all of these programs have problems of some kind, and I do not want to dismiss those problems. I simply want to point out how far we have come. There was a time in our country when none of these things existed.
There was a time when slavery existed, when women couldn’t vote, when vast numbers of people lived in abject poverty, when the LGBTQ community faced grave persecution and when our average life expectancy was much lower than it is today.
So the next time you want to throw your hands up and declare that politics and elections never result in any good, consider how far we have come.
Instead of thinking of how every system is riddled with problems, realize that is a part of a process. No worthwhile fight in American politics happens overnight, and that means we should do our part to move our country forward while acknowledging that movement will be slow.
The way we do that is by paying attention to what is going on in our political system, holding leaders accountable through voting and fighting against the pervasive cynicism of the day.
Even though this election has been brutal, leading to a vicious mistrust of government in all of us, we must look at the bigger picture and the larger goals we are working toward: equality and freedom for all.
Daniel Payne is a freshman integrated marketing communications major from Collierville, Tennessee.
