I know it can't just be me..

[JHan]

52. Voters suffer the consequences through collective inaction..

which results in exactly what you describe - bad policies.

We have to be involved, we have to care enough to be involved , we have to care enough to understand policy and the power of our votes. No politician can "make us care", and we shouldn't need a politician to make us care. Part of living is caring - and we should care enough about what's happening around us to work on improving our communities.

Somehow many feel their votes don't matter and politics is bad - which means they opt out and leave a vacuum for those who do understand power to step in and control the narrative and the status quo. I've no idea how to correct this: Maybe a greater emphasis on civics in schools, but not just ordinary civics class but contextualizing civic action as means through which voters make their power play.

As for Democrats, the first thing we can do is dismantle efforts to suppress enthusiasm to vote through grassroots activism and recapturing state legislatures. We've gotten enough warnings from Republicans of their intent to suppress and disenfranchise voters- but all talk will be for naught if democrats and liberals don't show up for these elections - like we didn't show up in 2010, and 2012, and 2014 - and then complain about it*. Maybe it takes a Trump presidency to wake people out of their complacency, a complacency *they have to own* and if it doesn't, they have only themselves to blame.