The Importance of Holding Politicians Accountable

By: Brooke Bartschat 

Democracy cannot work without the people; without their will, without their input, and without their support. As it is stated in the Declaration of Independence, “Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government”.  It is not only our constitutional right, but our duty as American citizens to call out politicians and hold them to their responsibilities. We have long understood that it is our responsibility to assert demands for government action and call for accountability, for our greatest power as American citizens is our ability to add to and shape the general opinion of the public. It is essentially in our DNA. We hold the historical and genetic memory of our founding fathers efforts to combat and dissolve an improper government filled with tyrannical kings, corrupt ministers, and immoral staffers. 

I have always found it funny that when something goes wrong, politicians make use of passive voice to take the blame off of them. It is always “Mistakes were made”; “The data was flawed”; “It got out of control”. We even see this when it comes to government inaction. Politicians are always so quick to say “Something needs to be done”; “Enough of the inaction”; “We need to do something” when they are the people we elected to do something. I am so tired of our government blaming everybody but themselves. We cannot continue to allow our representatives to do the bare minimum and provide us with promises that never end up fulfilled.

The question everyone asks themselves: Why is this allowed? How do our government officials continue time and time again to let us down and slip up without any consequence? In my opinion, it’s due to polarization. The polarization of politics, the overwhelming competition and rivalry between Republicans and Democrats has led Americans to become wary of criticizing those of their own party. Politics has essentially become a competition between two teams, the Democrats and the Republicans, rather than a unified group working to elect whoever they see best fit for the job. The goal of the two parties is to put as many people of their party into office, not the best people of their party into office. Because of this, it has become our duty as citizens to not accept this, and to demand the best of all of our politicians. 

So how do we hold our politicians accountable? We make use of our 1st Amendment rights. Use your freedom of speech, use your right to peaceably assemble to call out your politicians and hold them to their promises. Follow their voting patterns, and ensure they actually represent what you elected them for. Show up, use your voice, and contact your legislators if needed. It is important that we no longer allow subpar politicians with empty promises to get away without consequence. Please hold your politicians accountable.