In Times of Crisis, Political Engagement is a Moral Imperative
The importance of choosing involvement over personal comfort or willful ignorance
Edmund Burke once said, “All tyranny needs to gain a foothold is for people of good conscience to remain silent.”
Yet more and more I see friends, family, and previously-vocal connections on social media opting out. Staying silent. Pulling away from difficult conversations. Deciding they have no power.
If they do speak out, they say that politics is too hateful. Too divisive. They want to focus on the good in their lives and quite frankly, they have enough problems of their own to worry about the plights of others.
I understand this longing, from a feelings perspective. It is exhausting to try to navigate the sea of lies, especially in a world where the media has abdicated its responsibility to the truth and instead continues to chase shiny objects — no matter how false, vile, violent, racist, or downright dangerous. There are some mornings where I would rather do anything than listen to more clips from a Donald Trump rally, or listen to his surrogates “sanewash” him, or try to understand my friend who said, “I think he really cares about this country.”
