Uncommon Sense: Play ball! Or not ...

Written by Jeff Morris
Thursday, 18 March 2010 00:00

Sorry, it looks like I’m headed down the road of mind-numbing self-reflection again. If you don’t wish to get stuck in the mud with me, feel free to bail out right now.

The topic for today is not, in fact, weather, but political discussion — specifically, though not limited to, the discussion that takes place on this and the adjacent pages. As seems to keep happening with increasing frequency, I have again become mired in doubt about the purpose, effectiveness, and point of such “dialogue.”

It’s clear that the cause of my angst — other than a probable genetic predisposition — is a sense of frustration with what appears to be both a widening gap between polarized extremes, and the simultaneous growth of apathy and disgust in the middle. This is nothing new, but for some reason I perceive it as becoming worse.

“For some reason” is a deceptively naïve phrase, since the reason is obvious to me. Many people were enthralled with the promise of “change” and “hope” in 2008, but because of our increasingly unrealistic, technology-fueled expectations for instantaneous results (especially among the young) they became disillusioned when they didn’t see things get better immediately. There’s a demographic breakdown of voter turnout in Lewisboro for February’s special state Assembly election that shows this quite dramatically. Voter turnout was lowest among 18- to 19-year-olds (a pathetic 2.0%), with 20- to 29-year-olds not much better (3.2%) and growing on a steady curve among each successive age bracket (30s, 6.3%; 40s, 16.8%; 50s, 24.6%; 60s, 32.9%) until reaching the highest turnout among 70- to 79-year-olds (47.9%). These special election figures may not be representative of much, but if nothing else they give a stark view of a culture in which the importance of voting as a civic duty has steadily diminished.

To the extent that voter turnout is a measure of disillusionment, such apathy is compounded in New York, where prominent Democrats seemingly can’t get out of their own way. To have a chance in November — which means getting voters to the polls — New York Democrats need to do two things: 1. Get their act together, and 2. Do a better job of communicating their accomplishments. Obviously, there can’t be a #2 until there’s a #1.

But there’s a third necessity that is equally important, if not more so. Democrats need to explain what they believe in, and back it up with action. Otherwise, what’s the point? My counterpart on the right side of the page (sorry, that visual is lost on those of you reading this online; just another reason why technology makes things worse!) annoys me no end, not with his opinions, but with his portrayal of politics as a game. Politics should be more than just a game, and a political party should be representative of deeply held beliefs.

I’m a Democrat because I have basic beliefs in social justice, fairness and equality for all, environmental responsibility and sustainability, the importance of the middle class, and the positive and essential role that government can and should play in protecting us from corporate excesses. I am convinced most Democrats believe in these things, so maybe I’m delusional. But I am also convinced that if Republicans claim their party believes in any of these things, they are also delusional, or lying.

That’s why I also hate the notion that the only way to compete is to move to the “middle” and appeal to the “undecided” voter. If the electorate were convinced that there is a genuine philosophical difference between the parties, I don’t think there would be any undecided voters. The reason voters are undecided is the same reason they’re apathetic and don’t bother to vote: They don’t see any point, because they don’t perceive any real difference between the parties.

Yes, I realize my frustration over polarized dialogue might seem at odds with this desire to see the parties more polarized, so maybe I’m just bipolar. The point is, it’s much more than a game to me. Hey, I’m a New York Mets fan, but I’ll be darned if I know why; the team, management, and ownership all seem to be in a state ranging from incompetent to completely dysfunctional. Yet I continue to root for them, which can only be explained by some kind of emotional attachment to the uniform.

Much as I hate to say it, my Democratic allegiance often seems to be on the same level as my loyalty to the Mets. Do descriptions like “incompetent” and “completely dysfunctional” sound alarmingly apt? I would hate to think I only stick with the Democrats because of some emotional attachment to the uniform.