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A New Year's Refresher on Why We Do This

By James Ramsay

Alexander F. Yuan/AP Images

When the Politics Brief launched about a year and a half ago, the point was never to just cover the political news of the week.

After the 2016 election, there was a renewed fervor around civic engagement. Groups of New York and New Jersey voters — often led by suburban women — were demanding information on how regular people can access political power. At the same time, we knew there were local leaders outside the political machine with knowledge and experience to share. This newsletter was about connecting those people, and giving voters a clear digest of what an engaged citizen needs to know.

Now — a year after a midterm that saw high turnout (by local standards), some Congressional districts flipped by first-time candidates, and a major power shake-up in Albany — we're looking at another election year with high stakes, and presumably high interest in civic involvement.

Although, when we zoom out, maybe not the latter? The Purple Project for Democracy, a non-partisan apolitical effort that's co-organized by On The Media's Bob Garfield, highlights some concerning survey results:

Only 33 percent of the general population expressed trust for government
Only 39 percent of young Americans said democracy is "absolutely important"
About 24 percent of Americans expressed support for "a strong leader who doesn't have to bother with Congress or elections"

In a recent four-part mini series, Bob digs into how big money, misinformation, and racist power structures have made a huge chunk of the electorate either apathetic or outright opposed to democracy itself. And he looks at how, as one guest put it, "planet Earth's first mass, multi-racial democratic republic" could get more buy-in from those who've given up on it. It's a great listen for your holiday (who doesn't want an extra hour with Bob?), and a smart series to think about as we begin a year that's going to have serious consequences, no matter who chooses to engage.

LISTEN TO 'THE PURPLE EPISODES'

Do you have plans to get involved in 2020, or questions about where to start? Do you have feedback or suggestions for this newsletter going into the election year? Send me an email — I'm james@wnyc.org, and I always appreciate hearing from readers. Happy New Year!

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