By JAN McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
As Americans become more polarized politically, even defending democracy is seen as partisan to some. But as the nation watches democratic institutions crumbling and First Amendment protections eroding, many are searching for ways to fight back.
On Saturday morning, Dr. Dominic Wells, who teaches political science at Bowling Green State University, offered perspective and empowerment to the Bowling Green League of Women Voters.
While this seems like an unprecedented time in the U.S., the nation has survived other dark periods. When Wells’ students express their concerns about the demise of democracy, he reminds them of the Civil War, the fight for Civil Rights, and McCarthyism’s Red Scare.
“I try to keep myself grounded,” Wells said. “We’ve been through some pretty tough times.”
That is not to say that Americans should just wait out this latest threat to democracy, he said. There is a danger to saying nothing and normalizing the attacks on democratic institutions, he said.
“Sorry, this is not the most positive presentation,” Wells said.
There are ways for individuals and organizations to engage in activism, such as making phone calls and writing postcards to elected officials, attending demonstrations, submitting testimony, and talking with friends and family.
“It sometimes feels like you’re not getting anywhere with this stuff,” Wells said. But every little bit adds up.
As an organization, groups like the League of Women Voters can work to encourage non-voters to register and vote. The “no”s may greatly outnumber the “yes” responses, but the effort is still worthwhile.
Groups should also push for their members of Congress to hold town halls to hear from their constituents, he said. Though Republican congressional members have been cautioned by GOP leadership against holding town halls, voters can exert “public shaming” of those who refuse to listen to voters.
“The political capital of politicians is not unlimited,” Wells said.
The current threats to democracy are many:
- Deterioration of the electoral process, with President Donald Trump still refusing to concede to his failure in 2020. And while there is very little evidence of voter fraud in the U.S. “there’s a whole lot of policies out there to keep people from voting.”
- Diminishing of First Amendment protections, with threats to jail and deport protesters.
- Crumbling of democratic institutions, such as dismantling of the U.S. Department of Education, withholding of funding approved by Congress, and refusal to comply with court orders. “That’s dangerous.”
“It’s very easy to get lost in all the stuff going on,” Wells said.
Wells talked about the rising political polarization in the U.S., aided by gerrymandering, technology and partisan “news” sources, and the lack of understanding about the different levels of government.
The proliferation of 24-hour news sources allows viewers to be exposed only to the news they want to hear. “You can find news with your view of the world,” he said. “That puts us all in our echo chambers.”
The loss of local news sources has led citizens to have less understanding of local, state and federal government. And gerrymandering, such as that in Ohio, gives politicians little reason to listen to both sides of issues, Wells said.
Using graphs, Wells showed how voting patterns in Congress have changed. In the not so distant past, crossover voting was much more common – with members from one party voting with the other party. That has changed, with very little overlap, he said.
Compromise has become a negative concept, rather than a valued method of working together to achieve a common goal. “There’s less give and take in Congress,” Wells said.
That same polarization has trickled down to voters, with fewer people “defecting” to candidates of the other party, he said.
All this has led to “negative partisanship,” where people may not know what they are for, “but they know what they are against.” And that makes it easier for parties to paint their opposition as enemies.
“It’s pretty easy to get people riled up about things they are against,” Wells said.
The nation could benefit from “deliberative democracy,” holding informed and moderated discussions that transcend partisan debates and could help depolarize society, he added.
That requires talking about ideas and issues – not politics and politicians. Conversations should be face-to-face. “It’s a lot easier to be mean on the internet,” Wells said.
“We do a lot of finger pointing, and that doesn’t help our discourse.”
Even some institutions that previously had support from both political parties are now at risk. While Trump can’t legally get rid of Social Security, he is undermining the system by laying off 7,000 employees who directly respond to citizens. In the past, politicians would work across party lines to solve this problem – but there seems to be little appetite for that now.
“We ought to be able to find common ground,” Wells said.
Karen Wood, a LWV member who volunteers at a food bank, asked if there is a way to make people realize they should vote for their best interests. She said 90% of the food bank clients voted for Trump, who on Friday made $500 million in cuts to food banks across the U.S.
Wells said many people have no idea how much the government impacts their everyday lives. “We don’t realize how much we rely on the federal government for things,” he said.
Many states are taking their cues from the federal government when it comes to limiting free speech.
Wells showed an image from an Idaho classroom that landed a teacher in trouble.
The poster pictured hands of various skin colors, and stated “Everyone is welcome here.” The teacher was ordered to take down the poster since it was considered an opinion.
In Ohio, the recently passed Senate Bill 1 sets rules around classroom discussion on “controversial beliefs,” and would force the teaching of “both sides” of debunked conspiracy theories and issues such as climate change.
“I refuse to teach both sides of Jim Crow,” Wells said.
“It’s extremely hard to do non-partisan work when this is considered partisan,” he said of the classroom welcoming poster. “That’s the climate we’re dealing with.”
That’s an issue faced by the League of Women Voters, an organization dedicated to non-partisan study of issues.
“This is a non-partisan group that gets labeled as partisan,” due to polarization, Wells said. “Somebody’s always going to call your group ‘partisan,’ no matter what you do.”
