Voters got the power

A few days ago, I had to call my bank due to some charges that had been credited to my debit card. No big deal, just some guy living the dream in Barcelona with my money.

I told Lisa, my bank’s representative, my problem. She did a wonderful job of helping me, but as she was talking, I started noticing something.

She called me sir even though she was at least 20 years older than me. She was always quick to apologize for things that were not her fault. She sounded panicked about the whole situation.

Listening to her, I realized Lisa, in the conversation we had, was a hostage.

And while I technically wasn’t holding a gun to her head, I did have the power to negatively effect her career. One wrong move on her part, and I could move my money to another bank.

This whole experience got me thinking about politics.

Lisa, just like every representative in the political arena, has a job on the line. The only difference between them is that if I don’t like something Lisa says or does, I can’t personally fire her myself.

But I can do that with a congressman. Politicians’ careers live and die based on the public’s opinion of them.

The system is set up so that when politicians can’t or won’t fulfill citizens’ wishes, they get the boot, and we find a new guy to fill the position.

The problem here is that the American public doesn’t seem to understand this. They complain about how American politicians don’t care about the people they represent and how they should all lose their jobs.

All of this is pretty consistent with Congressional approval ratings being at about 9 percent. But it clashes horribly with the reelection rates for senators and representatives.

The last election, Congress sported an 80 percent reelection rate for incumbents.

This means that, while 91 percent of the American population either disapproves of or abstains from approving of what Congress is doing, they continue to vote for the guys who are doing what they disapprove of.

Confused? Yeah, so am I.

So the next time you’re railing on a certain politician or decrying the state of American politics, remember why those politicians are there.

They are voted in by people who don’t seem to understand politics or are merely apathetic.

We, as a nation, need to wake up to the fact that we play a role in American politics. We get to vote for representatives. We have the power to make or break political careers.

Now, let’s use it.

­— kevsjack@indiana.edu