THE POLITICAL CHALLENGE OF CITIZENSHIP
Dr. Paul Petterson, Associate Professor and
Chair of Political Science at CCSU

As political scientists, my colleagues and I at CCSU pursue our calling of educating student-citizens in a difficult age, swimming against many of the cultural currents around us. At this time of a highly competitive election year, the public discourse swirling around (and sometimes assaulting) the public reminds us all what we are up against in encouraging the practice of thoughtful citizenship.

Rather than being educative and reflecting the complexity of many public issues, the information citizens receive in campaigns is often superficial and/or purposely misrepresented to promote emotive response rather than thoughtful reflection. Even public debates often turn on 30-second sound bites rather than substance. While such statements and advertisements act on the premise “the simpler the argument, the better,” they discourage deliberative dialogue and real information sharing. These ads promote winning and losing candidates – but citizens lose no matter what.

The current political climate also demeans the very idea of practicing politics as a worthy activity. It devalues both informed dialogue on issues and the value of seeking public office. Looking at such an atmosphere, it should be no surprise that citizens are often both uninformed and disconnected, subject to emotional appeals often based on fear.

To best prepare our student-citizens for this challenging political environment, we try to help them build the strengths that are often absent in the political arena. Our students pursue a well-rounded base of substantive knowledge, develop the self-confidence to assert arguments, listen to and learn from opposing points of view, and work to critique arguments based on information rather than emotion.

One of the best ways to help crystallize such skills is giving students the opportunity to practice in a real life environment. We are immensely proud of the student interns we place with city governments, legislators, state agencies, and other political organizations, as well as in opportunities in Washington, D.C. Our interns have built a reputation of high quality performance, and both they and their supervisors will attest to the value of their experience as a foundation for both citizenship and leadership.

The future of democracy begins with student-citizens like this. If people are unhappy with the status quo of political activity, the answer is neither disengagement nor a simple wave of “reaction and replacement.” The problem is not partisan in nature. Citizens must not only demand more thoughtful politics from others – all of us must model and practice such politics ourselves, believing in our own voices. We hope our students are well prepared for this task that we all are called to take up.

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