IU College Republicans watched a speech given by Speaker of the House Paul Ryan on the state of American politics Monday.
In the discussion that followed, there was cause to be discouraged, but it seemed like there was even more room for optimism.
This is a great discussion topic for today’s political landscape. In the current era of uncertainty, it is vital that Americans begin to hold their elected officials accountable for their previous records and vote them out if the constituency feels the official no longer represents them as well as they should.
This isn’t to say there aren’t reasons for Americans to be discouraged when it comes to Washington, D.C. Legitimate reasons are plentiful for Americans to be discouraged about the political scene. To many, it seems there is no way to hold Washington, D.C., accountable for its actions.
Partisan politics run rampant, and party leadership controls the way your elected officials vote and operate on Capitol Hill.
Unfortunately, these are real qualms Americans all across the country have. On this topic, Ryan said, “But when people distrust politics, they come to distrust institutions. They lose faith in their government, and the future too. We can acknowledge this. But we don’t have to accept it.”
But this election cycle is yet another opportunity to allow Americans to speak their minds and bring new officials to Washington, D.C., if they so desire. The basic principles that make this country great are still in place, with or without Donald Trump claiming they are not.
The right to self-determination, the right to vote and have a say in political proceedings and the right to free speech, assembly, religion, press and petition all remain intact.
Ryan’s speech concluded with a call for civil discourse between both parties as he said, “Politics can be a battle of ideas, not insults. It can be about solutions. It can be about making a difference. It can be about always striving to do better. That’s what it can be and what it should be.”
The Speaker of the House’s approach is certainly refreshing to me. At the end of the day, I think this quote can and should hold true on both sides of the aisle.
Politics should be about improving the lives of Americans, not an arena for politicians to hoard power and make decisions that will neither help nor please their constituency.
At the end of the day, it comes down to a choice. We, as Americans, can choose to create a political environment where positivity and discourse is encouraged. Or we can continue down the path of corruption, secrecy and lack of accountability currently displayed from Washington.
At the end of the day, this approach certainly dumbs down the magnitude of the problems at play in Washington, and it is idealistic.
However, I think if more lawmakers begin to adopt Speaker Ryan’s approach, discernible movement in the right direction may transpire.
staranyi@indiana.edu
