Could Mandatory Voting Save American Democracy?
We might need all hands on deck to rescue our political discourse.
In his book released earlier this summer, The Death of Politics, avowed #neverTrumper and veteran of three Republican administrations, Peter Wehner, bemoans the rising tide of polarization that has rendered our public discourse ineffective, virulent, and toxic. Writes Whener,
“Today the two parties are ideologically purer, and farther apart, than at any time since the Reconstruction period…Liberal Republicans and conservative Democrats are nearly extinct.”
This loss of mediating political voices has produced tragic results as evidenced by the tone of the current administration and the eagerness with which individuals on both ends of the political spectrum are willing to chant, cheer, or threaten fellow citizens who hold views different from their own. Contemporary political polarization has reduced American democracy to a shell of itself, a ship in danger of sinking.
Indeed, this is the interpretation of our current political moment by those on the left and the right. Respectable political dialogue has become so denigrated, according to a recent poll by the Pew Research Center, that 78% of Americans believe the “heated” rhetoric of politicians could lead to actual violence. And for many, things have gotten personal. A…
