(RNS) — Politics junkies devour every headline and dissect every poll this time of year. I know because I am one. But somewhere between the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent ruling granting presidents partial legal immunity and the increasing list of politicians, pundits and supporters urging President Joe Biden to drop out of the race, my passion for the political season has soured a bit. Cynicism has crept in. Perhaps I’m not alone.
In my search for renewed hope in the democratic process, I recalled the late theologian Karl Barth’s advice: “Take your Bible and take your newspaper, and read both.” When I did, I stumbled upon an ancient story that spoke to me in a way no pundit or politician could. I wondered if the answer to our political paralysis couldn’t be found in a 2,000-year-old story.
In his Gospel, the evangelist Mark relates how Jesus, returning to his hometown of Nazareth, is met with skepticism and disbelief. Despite his growing renown in Galilee for performing miracles, he finds himself unable to accomplish any significant deeds in the place where people know him best due to his neighbors’ lack of faith. Their familiarity with Jesus’ humble beginnings as “just a carpenter’s son” leads them to dismiss him.
While its context is Christian, it speaks to a universal truth: The cynicism that comes from familiarity can stifle the most capable individuals and hinder possible progress. Nazareth’s response to Jesus shows how those of us on either side of the partisan divide similarly dismiss those who seek to lead, fixating on their flaws and past mistakes rather than their potential.
Washington Post columnist Michael Gerson has written about cynicism’s role in American democracy. While newcomer Jimmy Carter’s “squeaky clean” reputation helped him win the presidency in the wake of the Watergate scandal in 1976, the same mistrust of our best-known politicians in 2016 overwhelmed the predictions that so greatly favored Hillary Rodham Clinton over Donald Trump.
Today, in spite of a modest uptick, a Pew Research Center report recently indicated that public trust in government is historically low. Only 22% of Americans believe the federal government will do what’s right, with 35% of Democrats expressing trust and just 11% of Republicans. Cynicism can be a self-fulfilling prophecy, keeping the best of our citizens out of politics and causing the inevitable political failures and unfulfilled promises to further erode public confidence in the political process.
Youth participants pray before worship at St. Andrews AME Church, March 12, 2023, in Sacramento, Calif. (Photo © Montay McDaniel)
In my own faith practice, I grapple with discerning the difference between skepticism that motivates action and cynicism that leads to despair. The story of Jesus’ return to Nazareth suggests that belief — or at least an attitude of hope — can be a starting point. I’m the pastor of the oldest historically Black church on the West Coast, whose legacy is tied to several key social movements to counter the unique obstacles facing California’s earliest Black residents.
This church worked to free the last known enslaved person in the state, opened a school that provided education for young people regardless of racial or religious affiliation and hosted three State Conventions of the Colored Citizens that aimed to increase equality for everyone.
Those examples remind me that the way forward involves more than just hoping for the best. It means actively engaging in the political process, demanding greater accountability through transparency and integrity, and supporting leaders who demonstrate a willingness to work across the aisle to prioritize the common good.
Our individual actions, no matter how small, can contribute to a larger movement for change. This may sound idealistic, but we can break our own “Nazareth cycle” by embracing leaders who can make a difference with the hope they need to succeed.
Whether we find inspiration in ancient texts or secular philosophies, the path ahead is clear: Active engagement, informed by hope, is the antidote to political cynicism.
(Jason D. Thompson is pastor of Sacramento’s St. Andrews AME Church, the oldest historically Black congregation on the West Coast, and teaches at the Black Honors College at Sacramento State University. The views expressed in this commentary do not necessarily reflect those of Religion News Service.)
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