Last Tuesday, I went to Mount Holyoke College to see John Kerry talk about his new memoir, Every Day is Extra. The Obama administration’s Secretary of State and 2004 democratic presidential candidate spoke less about his career and more about his coming of age.
He is optimistic about today’s political situation because of what he experienced in the 1960s: As a young man, he was sent to Vietnam and was totally transformed by the act of fighting in a war. He witnessed the Cold War first-hand and lived at a time when the entire world was in jeopardy. After watching the Cold War end and relations between America and Russia thaw somewhat, he believes in democracy and that the American people can restore our democracy by making our voices heard.
One of my greatest takeaways from Kerry’s speech was how strongly he believes in the power of voting. He was ashamed that only 54.2% of the eligible voting population actually cast their ballots. According to Kerry, democracy can only work when people participate. He believes that the issues we are having with our current government stem from a lack of voter turnout.
At one point in his talk, he encouraged the audience to vote in the midterm elections. He believes that with enough participation, there could be a major course correction in Washington.
Kerry also said that our current system of government is broken because there is too much money entangled in politics and mass amounts of unfair gerrymandering. People in government care more about money and party allegiance than the Constitution. Only with enough voter turnout can these issues within the system be resolved.
Kerry also discussed the problems with news media and how it is detrimental to our democracy. He describes the self-selective process in which people go to the news sources they trust which reinforce their already-existing political stance. People segregate into different groups based on what media they choose, and as their political beliefs become stronger, these groups alienate each other. Kerry says this process poses a risk to democracy because democracy requires a consensus between parties and groups in order for decisions to be made.
Towards the end of his talk, Kerry told the audience he wanted to “make America fair again.”
Even though he is no longer in the White House, he continues to be active in politics and promote democracy across the country. He hopes that with enough voter turnout and political involvement, we can create better energy policies to combat climate change, rebuild America’s infrastructure and remove corruption from our democracy.
Kerry’s talk was inspiring and made me recognize that I, as a registered voter, have the power to help change what’s wrong with the current administration. I have the power to help restore American democracy.
