One week after this year’s big election, I have had some time to reflect on the months of work that I, and hundreds of other student volunteers, put into Democratic campaigns.
I thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to interact with thousands of Madison area residents. The vast majority of these interactions were positive; surely the political leanings of this city didn’t hurt. Yet a few very negative individuals stick out. Like the woman who walked by muttering, “Ew, Democrats, ew,” as if we were some sort of modern-day lepers. The elderly women who stuck their tongues out and complained loudly to even the hard of hearing, “You have got to be kidding me.” The cocky men who smirked and asked, “How much are you being paid to hold that sign”? or solemnly advised us, “If you ever want to get hired for a job, you had better cut that crap out.”
Perhaps surprisingly, all of the people that I have mentioned were significantly older adults. More often than not, these folks had young children in-hand, effectively demonstrating to younger generations that this is the way you react to people that disagree with you.
Maybe these adults felt comfortable acting rudely toward people they think are so young and inexperienced. However, I often walked away from these situations not degraded, but feeling rather embarrassed for them. I firmly believe this is one situation where the fact that students are not yet entrenched and cynical actually makes us all the wiser.
My frequent conversations with students on the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus never once provided a story like the ones I have recounted here. When I encountered Republicans, the worst they ever mustered were statements like, “Sorry, I’m voting Republican,” or the relatively harmless, “I think we’ve got you guys beat this time around.”
In an age of previously unmatched partisanship, of people regressing to curb-stomping rivals and stopping at nothing to slander the other side, the students on this campus give me hope for a brighter future for our democracy. Young people at this university seem to grasp a rather elementary idea that has escaped many of our elders: we are all still human, no matter our political beliefs.
That is why I beg each and every one of you to stay involved. Don’t forget about the numerous politically active groups on this campus until 2012. They do not die with every election cycle. And even if joining these groups is not your style, at the very least, stay informed and stay engaged.
Both our incoming Speaker of the House and President Obama have made statements that they hope to compromise and work together to get things done. Now is the time to hold them to these promises because their action or inaction directly affects us. We need more Americans to express their anger over these petty political games and demand that we expect real cooperation from our leaders.
Please continue to grapple with difficult issues respectfully and remind frustrated and angry adults of the basic lessons they once taught us. To borrow a term from Jon Stewart, we need more voices of sanity in today’s political discourse, even if it has to come from the youngest generations.
Travis Serebin ([email protected]) is the communications director for College Democrats of Madison.
