By some measures, the approval rating of Congress is at its lowest in American history. Commonly cited reasons for this include a lack of integrity among today’s politicians, perverse influence by well-connected special interests, and an increasingly polarized and virtriolic political culture.
But there is something else to consider: the average legislator is a white male in their 50s or 60s that is primarily trained as a lawyer. In other words, our representatives hardly reflect the growing diversity of their own constituents. While you don’t necessarily need to relate to someone to represent them, it’s clear that in these trying times we need more careers, ages, ethnic groups, and belief systems to be a part of our political process.
A democratic society needs all its ideas and perspectives on the table to better shape policy and solutions.
Diversity is no panacea, but given the obvious failings of the status quo, we need more of our voices to be heard.
-Romney Manassa
FIU Alum
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