‘Disillusionment’: Professors address the state of American democracy

Professors John Compton and Kyle Longley discussed issues of political polarization and distrust in a Dec. 2 Civic Engagement Initiatives event. Unsplash

As the U.S. faces a transition of power, a discussion has reached fever pitch over whether American democracy is under threat and whether a “crisis” in democracy will continue under president-elect Joe Biden’s administration. 

Civic Engagement Initiatives held a political forum titled “The State of American Democracy” Dec. 2, which featured John Compton, chair of the political science department, and Kyle Longley, the director of Chapman’s War and Society master’s program. The two answered questions about the relationships citizens have with institutions of democracy and the political discourse and dissenting opinions they have. They then selected questions submitted by audience members during the event in the Q&A tab.

“Leading up to the election, many American citizens suggested that American democracy was in a state of crisis,” said Justin Koppelman, event moderator and associate director of Student Engagement. “We seem unable to bend a better sense of social cohesion (and) unable to strengthen our capacity for coming together where possible to build solutions to common problems we’re all affected by.”

As Koppelman suggested, a 2019 poll conducted by Public Agenda found that 39% and 42% of Americans, respectively, believe that American democracy is either “in crisis” or “facing serious challenges.” 

During the event, Compton and Longley paralleled the history of American democracy to modern politics and discussed widespread sentiments of distrust in the nation’s current political climate. They heightened the importance of the country and how its people may be looking to heal as a democracy.

Longley in particular expressed belief that much of the problems in American society stem from people in power who take advantage of divisions in race, gender and class. However, he believes there is hope in finding common ground. 

“We’ve got to get outside of our own little bubbles and really start interacting with each other, regardless of all the different things that too often are used to divide us,” Longley said.

Despite Attorney General William Barr’s findings of no widespread election fraud, the event took place as 220 congressional Republicans refused to acknowledge Biden’s victory. Now election workers in Georgia are facing harassment for their role in the electoral recounting process. This voter fraud speculation was propagated by President Trump’s campaign through lawsuits and social media claims that the election was “rigged.” 

“The results of the election add to a long list of examples in recent and distant history that point to not only a deepening degree of disagreement, but also a deepening degree of division and disillusionment,” Koppelman said. 

During the event, Longley said that while distrust in the government is not a new phenomenon, it has accelerated with the advent of social media. He believes a rise in mainstream acceptance of conspiracy theories and misinformation, such as rejection of the election results, plays a role in the current state of polarization in American politics.

“I fear we may have gotten to a point where (distrust in the government) is at a dangerous level where we can’t critically analyze what is truth and what is not,” Longley said. 

Compton stated that there have been periods throughout history where polarization was more prominent than in the current political climate, pointing to the years leading up to the 1860s Civil War, during which physical violence between political figures was common.

“One thing we can always be grateful for is that we don’t have high levels of violence in our political system at the moment,” Compton said. “But at the same time, the divisions we’re seeing now in American society and American politics are troubling.”

Longley voiced one solution for improving the current polarization: expanding and emphasizing civics education in schools. Congress introduced the bipartisan Civics Learning Act in 2019, which would allocate funds to civics education programs and prioritize civics education. Longley said civics education would ensure that people have an understanding of issues, how the government is organized and, most importantly, the ability to think critically.

“We have to get better, all of us, at critiquing what we’re seeing, understanding that we’re in echo chambers, questioning the material that we’re getting in our social media feeds, whatever it may be,” Longley said. 

Compton believes that polarization can be overcome by finding shared interests, rather than shared values, which are harder to agree upon. He said that many citizens are less extreme than people in power and that national elections should emulate that manner in which local elections are conducted – with an emphasis on national issues the country shares.

“The more we can shift the focus from the drama of national politics and personalities and likes and dislikes to bread-and-butter issues, the more we can work to overcome this divide,” Compton said.