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Our roundtable participants share a friendly toast. (Pictured from left to right) Bruce Gyory, Susan Arbetter, Anne Hildreth, Bruce Miroff, Patty Strach, and Sally Friedman
Patty Strach: It does matter to them. But have you read the
healthcare law? Has anybody?
Susan Arbetter: No, but I read The New York Times’s articles
that make it into English and I bet a lot of people don’t even
do that.
Bruce Gyory: That’s where V. O. Key comes in. Probably
the greatest political scientist this country has produced.
Patty Strach: I don’t know. E. E. Schattschneider, that’s
my guy.
Anne Hildreth: I’m with E. E.
Bruce Gyory: V. O. Key pointed out that the American
people are too busy with their everyday lives to get into
every nook and cranny and every issue. But like the parents
of teenagers, Americans ‘pull the car keys’ when they don’t
like what they see from their politicians. That was his
essential theory. It’s not an irresponsible electorate; it’s a
busy electorate.
Anne Hildreth: I’d like to ask my colleagues a question.
What one thing do you want your students to absorb as we
approach this election?
Bruce Miroff: I would say that however frustrating, however
banal, however pointless it sometimes seems to pay attention
to these matters, nonetheless, our fate both collectively and
as individuals is profoundly shaped by the political choices we
make as to who holds the important offices — the presidency,
Congress, state officials. To turn your attention away from
that on the grounds that you have no influence or say is to
essentially will your own hopelessness in the face of the
people and the choices that will shape our future.
Bruce Gyory: I couldn’t say it better. I’d second that.
Photography by Mark Schmidt
Patty Strach: What I usually tell my students is to look
around them, and I say, “What in this room is not regulated
by government?” And there’s nothing. The air we breathe,
the food we eat, the people who are sitting next to us, and
the ergonomic nature of the chairs. All of those things are
regulated by government. Who’s in charge of government
and who’s making these rules matter in ways we don’t think
about. So maybe your vote doesn’t make a difference in terms
of who gets elected to the presidency, but politics doesn’t
happen ‘out there.’ It’s all around us right here, right now.
Think about the ramifications. Social Security will never get
cut but financial aid will. Guaranteed. They should think
about those tradeoffs when they’re deciding whether to vote.
Sally Friedman: And find some ways to get involved in any
way you can. It’s your country.
Anne Hildreth: The thing I would stress is to recognize the
complexity of politics and not to give short shrift to the
symbolism. Often when students start to realize politics is
complex, they think “I can’t deal with it.” That’s okay. That’s
the reality. That’s actually part of the design. Earlier when
Bruce was talking, I was thinking maybe elections don’t
matter. Maybe who’s in the White House is not going to be
a critical factor in what’s coming.
Bruce Miroff: If I were a multimillionaire, I think it would
matter a great deal who’s going to get elected, or if I were a
low-income person. They may not fix the economy but there
are going to be different people benefiting.
Anne Hildreth: Right, and I know that. But in a way, the
problems don’t change a lot.
Susan Arbetter: Just different winners and losers.
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