On The Fence
The disconnect between politicians and constituents has become increasingly obvious as years progress with distrust of the government at an all time low. Statistics done by Pew Research Center show that only 19% of people trust the government always/most of the time!
To many the world of politics has become exceedingly complex however Patricia Hill Collins details in her article Intersecting Oppressions the Black Feminist Epistemology, which can be viewed in light of creating cohesive relationships between politicians and citizens. Though the tenets of her epistemology revolve around sociology the core meanings in essence are practical solutions which can be implemented to some degree in order to combat a few of the problems seen in society today in regards to politicians. The first and core concept of black feminist epistemology starts with the “connected knowers” which states that lived and true experience outweighs the sociological notion of being disconnected from a subject. Relating back to the statistics done by Pew Research, 74% of Americans believe that political officials put their own needs ahead of the country’s, this clearly displays the dismal place politicians hold in many citizens eyes.
Closely related to this topic is Collins’ second point, using dialogue as opposed to adversarial debate. Often times in politics disengagement exists between the underrepresented and elected officials, inciting numerous problems between the two. A common example cited is that “they just can’t relate” an idea which statistics further prove to be the majority opinion. In order to create a stronger connection between officials and constituents these two ideas, being connected and entertaining dialogue. The topic of trust revolves around many basic ideas such as; honesty, efficiency, and apparency. Promoting honesty is perhaps the most fundamental concept of all these ideas as most of them build on top of it, albeit it is one that few Americans believe politicians exercise. This rounds back to Collins’ notions of being connected and establishing dialogue, however, the fact of the matter is many people don’t vote. And perhaps the perspective of connection and dialogue must be extended to both politician and citizen, rather than shifting the blame on one party and taking accountability on both ends. Another study done by Pew Research Center displays some shocking statistics about voting trends.
Whites continue to be disproportionately represented in the voting booth: 37% of whites are regular voters, compared with 29% of non-whites, including 31% of blacks and 24% of all Hispanics. Conversely, 40% of Hispanics and considerably smaller proportions of blacks (17%) and whites (20%) say they are not registered to vote.
Regular voters also are older than those who are not registered. More than four-in-ten of those ages 50 and older (42%) are regular voters, about double the proportion of 18–29 year-olds (22%).
At the end of the day the fault is both on the public and the politician to some degree, if you don’t vote chances are your voice will not be heard. Though the virtues of voting even on a small scale could be talked about in detail the truth is that elected officials represent their constituents — if you don’t vote the blame is also on you (my opinion). Establishing a connection is a two-way street and both parties (citizens and politicians) have to be able to meet halfway in order for change to occur, without taking responsibility it makes little sense to complain — which is why if you were to take anything from reading this it’s that you should vote locally.
Here are some reasons why. How money is spent in your locality is directly determined by the people you vote for, this money based on local taxes determines a number of things such as education, public safety, public services, and information. Basically things that affect your day-to-day life which is why at the least local voting should be prioritized more. All in all it is the mutual responsibility of both officials and citizens to play their part in establishing cohesive communities through active connections, dialogues, and involvement. If you are on the fence about voting you should realize that your voice matters, so make sure it’s heard.
