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My friends know that I’m moved to political activism not as a partisan but out of concern for our nation and our democracy. My personal efforts are focused on environmental issues and fair elections. Two pervasive problems threaten democracy today: money in politics and gerrymandering.
The effort to end gerrymandering in Pennsylvania by amending the constitution has probably stalled for this decade. The existing politicized system where legislative leaders draw the maps has is so unjust that our PA Supreme Court responded to a League of Women Voters lawsuit by assigning a special master to redraw the Congressional map. Regrettably, that map will be redrawn again after the upcoming census using the same partisan process that produced the partisan map the Court rejected. Reform was frustrated by political gamesmanship that scuttled it at the last minute.
Here’s my letter to the editor, published today 7-29-18.
A cynical person might say the defeat of reform was inevitable. It’s not. At the root of all our problems with American Democracy is the indifference of the voters. Less than half of those who could cast a vote actually make the time to do so. Commitment is so fragile that outcomes are dramatically changed by inclement weather. Most of us lack that fire in our bellies that makes not voting unthinkable. It takes long-term engagement and some serious work to know the candidates and discern authentic information about the issues.
Money, mostly for attack ads and other propaganda campaigns, would be politically ineffective if most voters were engaged. Gerrymandering gives one party an edge, but not a lock, on elections. The party at disadvantage needs to get only about eight percent (8%) extra votes to overcome the bias: fifty-nine percent, instead of fifty-one.
So, in the end, it is not the politicians — it is we the poeple who are at fault.