In the wake of the November election, it’d be all too easy to get cynical about American democracy. Nearly half the electorate seems to doubt the results of the presidential tally, despite a consensus among election officials that it was the cleanest and best run in US history and despite multiple courts finding no evidence of widespread electoral tampering or fraud. And a February 2020 Pew survey shows fewer Americans than ever – particularly younger Americans – believe democracy is the best form of government.
But even if cynicism weren’t self-defeating, it would be the wrong response. For democracy isn’t only, or even mostly, about national elections and abstract generalities. It’s about what people do in their everyday lives – not only individually and with family, but with neighbors and in organizations of all kinds. Americans’ participation in government lags behind that of other rich countries for a host of different reasons (detailed in a landmark report just issued by the American Academy of Arts & Sciences). But the US still boasts a relatively robust and thriving civic sphere, in which citizens interact regularly to worship, educate one another, provide services, and solve problems of all kinds. We tend not to think of these groups as “governments”, but they not only interact with government, but often function as what political scientists describe as “private governments”: electing representatives, collecting and distributing money, and making collective decisions on policies and projects that affect their members.
To be sure, this civil sphere has been under assault in recent years as well. It could also be better connected to government than it already is. But the forces of polarization that have been so corrosive at the national level seem to have taken less of a toll in this sector. If that is so, it is probably because neighbors, co-parishioners, and club members can more interact more directly and productively. Broad, binary labels matter less when working on an immediate, shared purpose.
In 2021, we at EnCiv will be on the lookout for ways to infuse new vibrancy and capacity into this all important grassroots contributor to American democracy.
