Editor's note: All opinions, columns and letters reflect the views of the individual writer and not necessarily those of the IDS or its staffers.
Democracy in a big country like ours can be a scary proposition. When we step into the voting booth, we need to believe that millions of strangers aren’t voting against the common good. But for much of my lifetime, Americans haven’t trusted each other.
Distrust has manifested in the way we vote. Instead of regarding politics as a discussion between the many ideals and values of the nation, it has become a tool for securing a larger portion of the economy. When voters believe someone else is working to pull their economic security out from under them, they will pull back just as hard.
Our distrust of one another has led us astray. The economy is not zero-sum; my gain doesn’t have to be your loss. Look at how our nation has developed over the past 80 years. We’ve innovated our way to unimaginable wealth and brought a good chunk of the world along with us.
Much of the scarcity we face today is artificial; a result of our inability to trust each other and work together. We don’t trust our neighbors to build responsibly, so zoning regulations prevent us from building enough houses to match demand. The solution should be to encourage initiative, rather than suffocate it. If we reject this zero-sum lens and instead recognize the untapped potential of this country to enrich and care for its citizens, we can build a better America United States for everyone.
Distrust of our fellow Americans is not the only cause for concern. Trust in our government has also massively declined. Sadly, there is no one to blame but government itself. It hasn’t always been this way; the U.S. used to be a country of constant progress. We built highways that connected cities to rural towns, reliable urban transit massive dams that provided renewable power to tens of millions and enough housing to keep up with demand.
But now, our government is worse at delivering on promises than ever before. In 2015, when voters said that they wanted high speed rail in California, the state couldn’t do it. Even before building started, citizens and companies who disliked the outcome of a democratic vote sued. The project continues to wade through endless delays, wasting billions of dollars, while failing to deliver anything close to what the people of California wanted. Democracy has been overtaken by a “vetocracy.”
It isn’t just California that can’t build. Here in Indiana, our infrastructure projects are also falling short. Bridges that were built just a few years ago are cracking, necessitating costly repairs. When the government can’t build what voters demand, trust disintegrates. The kind of political change that so many of us want is a government that is more responsive to the needs of citizens. This first requires us to rebuild that trust.
It is impossible to solve these problems entirely at the polls. In fact, voting in national elections is probably one of our least impactful methods of democratic participation. Indiana has not been considered a presidential swing state since 2008, and incumbents look set to dominate in the coming midterms. However, a lack of change at the federal level doesn’t mean citizens are powerless.
Our true power, and thus responsibility, lies in the discussions we have within our built communities. We can refresh trust by developing bonds that allow us to better understand each other’s perspectives.
I’ve started Abundance at IU for two reasons. First, I’d like to see more people set aside their ideological differences and hang out with each other. The surest way to improve trust between voters is to illustrate that we share more common goals than we think. Second, I want to encourage discussions about how the government can meet our demands. We should build enough houses to meet demand, complete large infrastructure projects and continue to build towards a better future. Abundance is dedicated to all of that.
Above all, we want to grow our understanding of civic engagement and policy issues, and we’d like more students to join us. If you’d like to learn more, check out our national website and follow us on Instagram, @abundanceatiu.
Luke Saxton-Stivers (he/him) is a senior studying political science, sociology and economics. He recently founded Abundance at IU and is the Chief Justice of the Student Government Supreme Court.
