Translating civic engagement into political engagement

Daniel Held

Voter turnout among young voters is abysmal. In the 2011 Canadian election, the turnout rate was 61.1 per cent. Among the youngest cohort of eligible voters, aged 18 to 24, it was 38.8 per cent, while among those 65 to 74 years old, it was 75.1 per cent. Political engagement, manifest through voter rates, is alarmingly low among young voters and, especially with an election on the horizon, we have an obligation to engage these voters in the political process. 

Too often, however, political engagement is conflated with civil engagement. While they may not be voting, young people are engaged in their communities: volunteering, devoting time to building community, informing themselves on key social issues and taking action with passion and vigour. 

The American National Civic Engagement Survey differentiates between two forms of public engagement: political engagement and civic engagement. Political engagement is activity aimed at influencing government policy or affecting the selection of public officials. Civic engagement, on the other hand, is participation aimed at achieving a public good through direct hands on work in co-operation with others. 

The Jewish community has done a good job in mobilizing young adults toward civic engagement. We send youths to the developing world to build schools and dig wells; to Poland to learn about the Holocaust, racism and genocide; and to Israel to build the bonds of peoplehood. Our schools, camps and youth movements teach about tzedakah not only by raising money but by facilitating volunteer opportunities with local charities. We educate our youth about global issues of justice, the environment and poverty and particularistic issues including Israel and the fight against anti-Semitism. 

We can be proud of our youths’ high levels of civic engagement, as well as their passion and drive to contribute to their community and to better the world. But these high levels of civic engagement do not translate into political engagement. Here, we have a long way to go.

Too often, attempts to build political engagement are based on platitudes. We quote rabbinic leaders urging Jews to exercise their voting rights and have star musicians headline Rock the Vote concerts. It’s not enough to talk about the importance of voting. Rather we must align political engagement with the values of civic engagement. 

The first step is to explicitly demonstrate the link between the communal goals and aspirations so strongly developed through civic engagement and the results that can be netted through political engagement. Global development, fighting anti-Semitism, alleviating poverty, saving the environment and supporting Israel cannot be achieved through civic engagement alone, but only through a partnership of civic engagement and political action. For youths to see that the issues of concern to them are political issues can play a role in growing political engagement. 

The second step is for us to make political engagement a regular part of our lives. Too often, we measure political engagement only through voter turnout on election day. Political engagement must run deeper. It can be manifest by following political trends, engaging in conversation with family and peers, and advocating for issues. Through recent campaigns, the Jewish community has helped place volunteers to work on campaigns, supporting candidates beyond the ballot box. 

If political action is seen as a regular part of our work to bring about change in our community and our world, as something that happens not only when an election has been called, but as part of our commitment to the issues that are important to us, we can raise electoral turnout rates

My vote will be counted on Oct. 19, not only because I believe in the importance of exercising a right that has not always been offered to my ancestors, but because I believe it’s one small way of bringing about the kinds of change I want to see in the world.