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Politics can often feel like a bewildering spectacle to students, full of noise and confusion, with little connection to their everyday lives. Politicians’ promises and decisions made behind closed doors often seem out of touch, making students feel powerless. This confusion can lead to frustration and cause them to disengage from the political process. But, it’s important for students to stay involved, even when politics feels difficult to understand. Their participation is key to creating a more open and responsive system that reflects their voices and values.

To address this crisis, we must rebuild clarity in political processes. Governance must become transparent so students can see how decisions are made. Communication should be simplified — not reduced to populist slogans, but made accessible. Students need tangible forms of political engagement, where they can witness the direct impact of their involvement, however small.

In a healthy democracy, citizens recognize how voting, organizing or advocating for issues can connect to tangible outcomes. But as politics becomes opaque, this sense of cause and effect breaks down. Consider a student campaigning for a candidate who promises better mental health services in schools. In a transparent system, if the candidate wins, students expect those services to improve. However, when political outcomes feel detached from the promises made, young people’s frustrations grow, and they may become skeptical of all political actions.

We often hear politicians promise sweeping change — something ambitious like “making America great again” or “ending all inequality” — but with no clear plan to achieve it. When constituents encounter promises that sound good but offer no logical connection to real outcomes, it breeds frustration.

Over time, people may stop engaging altogether, convinced that their vote or activism won’t lead to meaningful results. Yet, some people still cling to these empty promises, hoping for change that never materializes. This is why understanding how policies are developed and implemented is so important: it helps young people see through vague rhetoric and connect their actions to real, achievable outcomes.

Alex Levy | Design Editor

When politics becomes too confusing, students’ frustration can quickly turn into cynicism. They might begin to feel like the entire system is rigged, corrupt or deliberately working against them. This growing sense of disillusionment pushes many to disengage, making them question whether voting or participating in protests and community activities is worth the effort. If every action seems futile, it’s easy to see why students might stop trying altogether.

The danger of this is that it can spiral into nihilism. If no action seems to lead to meaningful change, voters may give up on politics entirely. They might withdraw from civic engagement, stop voting or embrace more radical ideologies that promise to “burn it all down.” This creates a feedback loop. The more people disengage, the more political institutions become unresponsive, which in turn reinforces the feeling of opacity.

Even more concerning, some students may reach the point where they no longer believe in truth itself. When politics feels like a constant cycle of broken promises and conflicting messages, they might decide that everyone — politicians, institutions and even the media — is lying. Though students crave honesty and transparency, their distrust becomes so deep that they stop seeking truth entirely.

In this void, misinformation, conspiracy theories and empty promises take root, offering the illusion of clarity. This cycle of frustration can further erode trust in institutions, especially when young people have already struggled to understand how their engagement matters.

Despite their frustration, students’ desire for transparency and accountability reveals a hidden democratic instinct. Beneath their anger lies a longing for a system where their voices matter. Their criticism of institutions isn’t rooted in apathy, but in a belief that the system should and could work better. Whether through protests, social media campaigns or even rejection of traditional politics, students express a deep yearning to reclaim agency and make their opinions count.

Ultimately, students don’t want to abandon politics; they want politics to make sense for them. When institutions become intelligible, young people can shift from frustration to participation, from cynicism to hope, and from distrust to renewed agency. The heart of democracy lies in this transformation — engagement, persistence and the rebuilding of trust.

The path forward isn’t easy, but it’s necessary. By demanding transparency and refusing to disengage, students can help create a political system that reflects their values and meets their needs. And in doing so, they will secure our future and breathe new life into our democracy.

Dennis DiSantis is a junior majoring in political science. His column appears bi-weekly. He can be reached at dadisant@syr.edu.

Published on November 5, 2024 at 12:19 am