November 4th came...and went. And I am so thankful for that fact.
I have had some really good conversations about the election, the issues most commonly discussed, and the candidates themselves. I have also read many disheartening commentaries and comments from people that have made me frustrated and sad. Unfortunately I think election season can bring out the worst in us...but hopefully the future will prove that wrong (I'm really, really hoping).
I graduated from college with a degree in Political Science. It's funny the reaction many people (and for good reason) give me when they hear this. They think I must be super excited about the election, about American political dynamics, what the candidates said in the debates, etc. etc. And all of this is somewhat true -- I did watch the debates (and live tweeted too!), I am interested in political dynamics and what candidates are saying and doing. However, being a political science major made me want more from political discussion -- and that "something more" continues to be absent in the political discussions I read about in the newspapers and on BBC.com.
In my Poli Sci classes we talked about the state and society -- what is the purpose of government? of social structures? of communities, organizations, families, schools? How do these different entities fit together? How do they support each other/relate to one another? We talked about the public good, about justice -- and how the the state, organizations, and families should seek to pursue justice in their respective capacities (and those pursuits will look different from one another).
When my aunt visited my family after my sophomore year in college, she asked me what I had learned in college so far and I said something along the lines of "life is complex" -- and studying politics was one of the most vivid example of that to me. I have taken classes emphasizing the importance of free trade, listened to Latin Americas who have been abused by unfair fair-trade policies, and interned at a think tank that strongly emphasized private markets in the healthcare sector. And I see truth in these varying view points: truth in the purpose of the market, but truth in its abuse and the heartbreaking reality that people do suffer when the market is abused or misused.
But when I open the newspaper to read about political discussions happening, we're avoiding the complexity -- we're not talking about justice and fairness, but instead individualism versus conservatism. It's pro-market or pro-government, which is robbing both the government and the market of their important role in society. When we talk about complex issues like immigration, taxes, education reform, health care policy, the solutions involve more than a "left" or "right" answer. When we talk about fiscal responsibility, we have to move beyond simply taxes and welfare programs and look at the broader purposes of government and social structures -- and how the two ought to interact. When we talk about winning the women vote, we cannot just focus on abortion rights but must consider gender discrimination and the public sector which still does not adequately reflect women voices (but yay for the now 20 women senators voted into office! we're getting there!). When we talk about welfare programs, we have to think about the individual, social, and global causes of poverty and what role government and other social structures should play. When we talk about immigration, we have to move beyond the "legal versus illegal" categories.
Those are the conversations I want to be having. Those are the conversations I want to read about and engage with people who disagree and agree with my thoughts. And perhaps if our conversations were about justice and fairness in the political arena, more people would engage instead of labeling politics as "so above their head." Politics is about people -- and while I know it's complex and difficult to understand, our shared humanity should prompt all of us to engage in political conversations -- and hopefully elevate them to a higher level instead of the right versus left that plagues the newspaper pages.
I chose to study political science because I was fascinated by the dynamic of government, social insititutions, and individuals -- and how this can function together under God's sovereignty. I didn't choose to study politics because I love politicians or have the Constitution memorized. I chose to study politics because political systems have profound implications in all areas of life -- in a very, very complicated way :) I hope that more people will join that conversation with me -- more business-minded people who can talk about economic justice and business practices that are fair and right. I hope more social workers join the conversation and talk about poverty and how welfare programs can be supported by government effectively. I hope more teachers enter the conversation and voice their ideas about education funding, wages, and access to resources.
And I hope we're willing to listen -- really listen -- to what they have to say. It's easy for me to jump on someone whom I know I won't agree with (especially when it comes to an issue I'm particularly passionate about) and then I stop listening to their argument. But I hope that if we elevate the conversation to talk about the complexity of these issues -- and listen to each other tell the other about the complicated and messy problems they find themselves facing in their fields -- hopefully we can listen better and work towards comprehensive solutions. I definitely need help in this listening arena.
I'm hoping for those conversations to come sooner rather than later (And there are some AWESOME blogs out there that do host these conversations and I'm really, really grateful for them! Check these articles out to know what I'm talking about: "Establish Justice: Reflections on the 2012 Election" by Hilary Sherratt, "When Issues Don't Fit Into Labels" by Melissa Steffan, "Immigration Debated, Not Much Said" by Danielle Huntley, "Questions on Christians and Politics" by Stephanie Summers)
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