“Consuming and
participating in politics by obsessive news-following [and] by arguing and
debating” is not politics, says Eitan Hersh in Politics Is for Power (Simon & Schuster [2020]; $27). To binge
on MSNBC, devour Fox News or constantly share one’s opinions with friends and
family on social media or in phone calls, is “to satisfy our own emotional
needs and intellectual curiosities” but in itself serves no “serious purpose.”
Hersh calls
the trap political hobbyism: Instead
of electoral engagement (canvassing, participating in meetings, etc.), citizens
pay lots of attention to political comings-and-goings. By one survey, 83% of those who spend an hour
or more daily on news consumption (TV, mobile devices, reading) spend no time
on political activity. Nor does the majority ever act on a community problem.
Hersh does not suggest that citizens abandon the news. Genuine activists are
well-informed. However, it does not work in the opposite direction: News
junkies are not active.
Genuine
politics is when people volunteer in order to acquire power. They build
relationships, win supporters and broker their power for some social
improvement. Hersh, a young professor at Tufts University, is sympathetic
toward students and other young adults who support causes. However, he supplies
several cautions. Genuine politics might entail spirited protest, but protest
in itself is not enough. Though one-off events appeal to young adults, genuine
politics means a longer-term commitment to others.
Hersh’s
term for shallow participation is slacktivism.
This is any symbolic on-line activity or token action that conveys support but
only fulfills an altruistic need. These shallow gestures put off the necessity
to learn how to vote, how to canvass, how to build relationships. He furnishes
fascinating studies about how wearing a button or T-shirt subjectively removes
the obligation to do something.
Political
hobbyism is not neutral; it “hinders the pursuit of political power.” It puts
attention on entertainment and melodrama. Similarly, it favors “short-term
emotional highs,” pushing away the often boring process of real social change. It
also favors ideological struggles in which all manner of policies become moral
convictions over which there can be no compromise. Both citizens and electoral
officials buy into this made-for-TV culture.
Hersh
profiles several competent organizers. They are people of empathy who know that
whining and yelling only narrow the base. They have no set script but are open
to dialogue with anyone. They do not campaign around policy issues so much as
they are disciplined about winning and holding power. They have “generous
hearts” and exhibit patience.
Hersh’s
examples come from electoral politics. He does though apply his theory to the
withering of religious organizations, labor unions and civic groups. The phrase
spiritual but not religious can
typify a hobbyist. Whereas the word religion
means to bind together, the hobbyist occasionally tries out spiritual practices
like yoga or solitary meditation.
Specialized
Catholic Action (capital A) was a worldwide movement in 1940s and 1950s. Its
key insight was that faith formation must include action. Discussion groups,
theology on tap speakers in the parish hall and Scripture reflections in the
bulletin are fine. But adults do not grow in wisdom without action. The
Catholic Action method was summarized in the slogan: observe, judge act. In particular Catholic Action said that young
adults will be disposed toward Christianity through disciplined action around
their concerns about work and relationships. It trained young adults to
steadily organize like-to-like, student-to-student, worker-to-worker. Specialized
Catholic Action used no gimmicks and promised no quick fix. It is difficult.
Several formation programs (Renew, Christ Renews His Church, etc.) have solid
content but nearly all stumble on the necessity for action.
Droel edits INITIATIVES (PO Box 291102, Chicago, IL 60629), a print
newsletter about faith and work.
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