I typically enjoy the publication The Economist, so this week I was terribly disappointed to read the Lexington piece, “Not running, but fleeing,” which was all about the potentially devastating consequences of America’s youth turning their backs on politics.  Are Millennials politically apathetic?  I’d like to suggest a different interpretation.

First, we need to be clear on our terms.  The article discusses at length the importance of having a society that is politically engaged, particularly in democracy such as America.  Errr, what!?  First of all, America is not a democracy, it is a republic.  Now that may sounds like a silly distinction to some, but America’s founding fathers were more fearful of a democracy than of nearly any other form of government.  The focus of the founding fathers was on the proper relationship between the individual and the state.  The original core concept for America’s government was the notion that the only legitimate purpose of government is to protect the inalienable rights of its citizens and nothing more.  A democracy is quite possibly one of the worst forms of government to meet this goal for as the saying goes, democracy is 51 wolves voting to eat the 49 lambs.

The inaccuracy here goes further though in that it belies a fundamental misunderstanding of the goal of the American form of government.  Recall the saying attributed to Thomas Jefferson, “That government is best which governs least.”  The exact phrasing here is unlikely to have been exactly Mr. Jefferson’s, but it conveys his views accurately.  If the ideal government is that which governs least, leaving individuals to determine their own course through life, so long as their chosen course doesn’t interfere with another’s inalienable rights, then we would not seek to have a nation full of politically oriented individuals – translation – busybodies who love to direct other people’s lives.

The article’s author is concerned that Millennials are not interested enough in politics.  Fair enough, but what exactly is the state of politics today? The political arena in America has devolved into a discussion of to what degree do I get to dictate how you live.  Politics is about bureaucratic mudslinging, ridiculous hyperbole, embarrassingly phony hand-wringing and the blatant telling of bold-faced lies. Perhaps Millennials’ abhorrence of politics these days is more a reflection of the level of respect they have for the behavior and attitude of those in power. Excessive spending has lead to an enormous increase in debt alongside endless broken promises in the form of bankrupt pension plans and a social security system than any grade school math student see is beyond busted!

Perhaps the supposed apathy is in reality an awareness that the one-size-fits-all programs that have been shoved down the throats of Americans for decades haven’t worked and that perhaps, just perhaps, we will all be better off leaving each other the hell alone and simply focusing on making the most of our own lives.  Maybe they are the generation that has finally figured out, when you aren’t always sure what is best for you, why tell anyone else how to live?