As Idahoans approach another Election Day and an opportunity to have their voices heard, Boise State scholar Dr. Stephanie “Sam” Martin, the Frank and Bethine Church Endowed Chair of Public Affairs, says opportunities to exercise our democracy can’t be limited to the First Tuesday of November.
“I argue that we should think of democracy as a muscle that needs daily exercise,” said Martin. “Every time we listen to one another … every time we ask hard questions … every time we try to understand how institutions functions, we are keeping that muscle strong. And if we neglect it, it weakens. And when it weakens, the very foundation of our public life feels fragile.”
And even those we oppose the most still have a capacity for grace.
“You don’t have to respect someone else’s position, but you have to always remember that every human has dignity. No matter how odious you find their beliefs, dehumanization is the end of democracy, for sure.”
Martin joined Morning Edition George Prentice to talk about how U.S. politics have spilled into matters of global consequence, shared “civic commons,” and her recent essay on the essential nature of public broadcasting.
“Democracy means letting someone shout at the top of their lungs for a position that you would spend your whole life arguing against, at the top of your own.”
Find reporter George Prentice @georgepren
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