Apathy: The Death of Liberty

Henry Ward Beecher said it best.

“Liberty is the soul’s right to breathe and, when it cannot take a long breath, laws are girdled too tight.” 

This powerful quote has been exclaimed in court rooms all over this country and has even been featured in the Academy Award  winning film Good Will Hunting. Liberty is what motivated our forefathers to declare independence from Great Britain over 200 years ago. We have had countless pieces of legislation passed to protect the liberties we enjoy every day.

Liberty as we know it is in trouble. But what if the problem wasn’t that the laws are girdled too tight? What if the problem was that people elect to suffocate their own souls? What if American citizens opted to ignore their liberty by keeping their voices silent every day? 

By definition, apathy is the absence or suppression of passion, emotion, or excitement. A report by CBSNews.com  found that younger people “do not understand the ideals of citizenship, they are disengaged from the political process, they lack the knowledge necessary for effective self-government, and their appreciation and support of American democracy is limited.”

Harsh, right? I wish I could refute this claim, but the truth is that there are a lot of people my age that don’t know about or just don’t care about politics or the system through which our country is run. On the social networking site Facebook there are nearly 500 users that list their political views as apathetic, and more than 200 users on top of that that list apathy as an interest on their page.

I am a journalist however, and as a member of this alleged lethargic generation, I had to dig deeper into this accusation. There’s no way I was going to believe that the majority of the youth doesn’t want a say in where this country is going.

I managed to got a hold of a friend and self-proclaimed apathetic Erick Alfisi.  I told him the forum for my piece and proceeded to pick his brain about his political views. I started prying slowly, asking simply why he had lost interest in politics in general.

“I follow politics and all because I want to know whats going on, but I don’t really support any politicians because I feel they all have their own agenda ahead of the interests of the people”

Its not like I could argue with him. I know several people young and old that feel out of touch with their representatives; the ones that are elected to voice the needs of the public. 

I wanted to know if there was anything he could think of that would make him excited about politics again. Maybe a policy he’d like to see in action, a politician he’d like to see in charge, anything to spark some interest.

“That is an interesting question. Its tough for me because I do have my bias and preconceived notions about politicians and the political system, but I’d say if there was someone who really had something to say, who didn’t make empty promises and actually got his hands dirty for reasons other than a photo op.”

What preconceived notions could one possibly have against politicians?

“It seems like they’re all spouting the same nonsense as the guy before them. Its always “vote for me and this will happen and that will happen” but then, nothing happens.”

I asked him what he thought of Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill). I asked him if he thought that Obama was like every other politician and was just spitting political machine oil at America or if he thought the Illinois Senator was different.

 ”I’m on the fence about [Obama]. I like what he has to say, but I think time will tell if he really makes a difference or if he’s just banking on the fact that a lot of people in this country want things to change and he’s catering to their thoughts.”

What if he does make a difference and he does follow through with what he says?

“He has good ideas and if he actually implements the things he’s talking about, there may be hope for me yet!”

So I asked him one final question.

Would you now say you are more of an apathetic or a skeptic?

” [Skeptic] probably sums it up better. I hope that doesn’t ruin your article.”

No, Erick, it didn’t. I didn’t want to ever think that there were people my age that were truly apathetic. It is human nature to be skeptical. You shouldn’t take what anyone says for face value without doing your homework first anyway. I was in my glory; I had proved the CBSNews report wrong, at least for a moment.

Then I did my next interview. The interviewee asked to remain anonymous, and due to the nature of my story I saw nothing wrong with it. I started it off the same way; what made you lose interest in politics?

“All the failed policies of the Bush administration and the same empty promises of change from both politicians running in this year’s election.”

Ok, he didn’t bite. I’ll work with him. So I say, well, one of these politicians will have to win this election. Who do you think is better suited to run this country?

“Honestly, it doesn’t matter. It’s just going to be more of the same thing. Neither candidate is capable of making a difference for this country and turn it around.”

Could this person truly have such little faith in the American people that not one candidate could bring about even a little change after four years in office? There’s no way. So I ask him one final question to see if I can get him to open up a little.

What do you think we should do? As two young guys ready to vote for president for the first times in our lives, what should we do to overcome the issues we are facing as a country today?

“There’s nothing we can do. No matter who gets in they’re not going to listen to us. They’re more concerned with the private interests any way. And if they were going to listen to an actual voter, why would it be a 20-something?”

I closed my eyes and saw John Stewart Mill carrying On Liberty  proudly in his arms, not knowing that the most powerful and influential civilization in human history will base their doctrine on it.

I saw Thomas Jefferson and John Adams signing the Declaration of Independence, saying loudly and proudly that their beliefs and opinions were valid and that they would fight along side eachother to make sure no one was persecuted for theirs.

I saw Abraham Lincoln delivering the Gettysburg Address, liberating a people who was beneath liberty for so many years and could now let their souls take in fresh air.

I saw Martin Luther King Jr. saying “I Have a Dream”, filling his soul’s lungs deep to motivate and give courage to people who may have never taken their first breathe.

And then, right as I opened my eyes, I saw liberty; gasping and blue in the face, suffocating in the tight girdle of apathy.

Alex J. Martin