Serving the nation: Take it beyond the polls

As New Jersey voted on Tuesday, the ballroom of the East Brunswick Hilton was full of political staffers. An army of motivated 20-somethings, they put up signs, flags and press risers in preparation for the evening's Victory Party. But as they talked about balloons and cash bars and crowd control, a potential irony hovered closely overhead.

At the end of the day, the ballroom could very well serve as setting for a memorial service. If Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ) lost, the work of the day, the fall, the year, might vanish into the void of political defeat.

As it turns out, there was a Victory Party in East Brunswick that night. Menendez has been elected to serve in the U.S. Senate for the next six years, and his friends, family and staff had ample cause for celebration. The race had been one of the most hotly contested in the nation, with polls showing Menendez and his opponent, Tom Kean Jr., in a virtual dead heat up to the moment that the polls opened on Tuesday morning. It was widely agreed that the Democrats could not take the Senate without Menendez's election; the stakes could not have been higher. In addition, the campaign was bitter and difficult. Menendez endured terrible accusations and character assaults that were untrue but demoralizing nonetheless. Victory was rehabilitating, reaffirming, and yesit was sweet.

What did Menendez win on Tuesday night? He won prestige, status and continued access to an elite, powerful American community. But from what I know of Menendez, I can write with conviction that he would never equate any of these acquisitions with the most important prize of Election Day victory, one often lost in the chaos of flashbulbs and sound bytes. He won the right to serve the people of New Jersey. Sen. Menendez, like every elected official, is fundamentally "in the nation's service." We can vilify politicians, mock their indiscretions and question their integrity, but the truth is that every senator and congressman goes to work each day to make American lives and the American nation better. Is there anything nobler?

I chose to work for Menendez for Senate because I wanted to experience the excitement of such a close and critical campaign. More importantly, I believe that you can't complain about gas prices if you don't show up and vote, and you can't complain about the government if you don't pitch in and help. Analysis and commentary are valuable, but they are not definitive. The only way to enact political and social change is to work from the inside.

The notion of change has never been more meaningful. According to a new national poll from Harvard's Institute of Politics (IOP), 60 percent of 18-to-24 year olds believe that the country is on the "wrong track," while only 18 percent of young people believe that the country is headed in the "right direction." However, recognizing a need for change does not translate into a desire to enact that change through political service. The same poll shows that young adults are decidedly turned off by the current state of political discourse in Washington and skeptical of today's elected officials. 74 percent of young adults believe that politics have become too partisan, 78 percent believe that elected officials are motivated by selfish reasons and 75 percent believe that elected officials have priorities that differ from their own. The IOP suggests that this souring in attitudes toward politics is most likely due to poor progress in Iraq and the widely criticized governmental response to Hurricane Katrina.

Thankfully, this cynicism has not translated into complete detachment. 70 percent of those in the 18-to-24 demographic, 75 percent of 22-to-24 year olds and 84 percent of young adults with a college degree believe that "politics is relevant" to their lives. In addition, according to a survey by the National Science Foundation, interest in political science as a graduate field is booming. Michael Brintnall, the executive director of the American Political Science Association, says that political science is a "hot ticket right now" because of the monumentality of world events during the formative years of today's student population. The idea of America's place in the world, especially in relation to the Middle East, has "caught students' attention."

Caught it, but not held it. Most of the political science students enter academia, not public service, and while more than half of the young adults in the IOP survey have volunteered for community service in the last year, only 19 percent have participated in a government, political or issues-related organization over the same time period.

No matter where postgraduate life takes members of the Class of '07, many of us will be guided by an acute sense of social duty and conscience. Some of us will participate in Teach for America and the Peace Corps, and others will work for nonprofits in order to provide health and legal care to those in our society who need it most. These are all dignified means of service. Our government, too, is a worthy service venue. A wide range of opinions only elevates political discourse, and a high rate of participation only raises the standards for excellent leadership. Involving ourselves in politics is one way we can give something back to the nation that gave us all the opportunity and privilege attached to a Princeton degree.