Thirsting for much more than political pandering

I asked 20- and 30-somethings in a column last month what issues are important to this group. The answers surprised me.

The e-mailed responses gave glancing attention to headline-grabbing issues such as the environment, Iraq, transportation and education. The common theme was a desire for a more nuanced political discussion and candidates, not parties, worth believing in. Words like integrity and ethics peppered the replies.

This is a problem for the Democratic and Republican parties, whose strategies target tangibles such as the environment and taxes and present these issues in tailored packages to courted demographics.

Colleen Sullivan's answer would give a partisan operative fits. The 20-year-old college student wrote: "The best way a politician can win my support is by showing him- or herself to have a logical, consistent set of opinions and to stick to them rather than to hot-button issues ... Occasional ethical behavior or other signs of conscience, chimerical as it sounds, would win my vote as well."

How will the parties excite somebody so refreshingly pragmatic who does not mention a political party and is wordy enough to use "chimerical" in a quickly written e-mail?

The answer is simple. The parties cannot excite such a person, and that is a problem.

Voters, not just Gen-X and -Y, need more choice. The partisanship of politics, the sureness of each side that its position is the position, is a turn-off. Pile on the parties' limp response to recent scandals and it is no wonder people like Sullivan arethirsty for a reawakening of political ethics.

The parties are already positioning candidates who have the best chance to win in the 2008 presidential election, which is different than who is the best person for the job.

Emmett O'Connell, a 29-year-old respondent from Olympia, summed it up best during a telephone interview this week: "People see the parties being solely focused on winning elections, so they don't want to get involved."

O'Connell is not a bystander. He is the Web master for America For Richardson, the unofficial site for New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson's possible run for president. O'Connell also writes for a number of blogs, including Western Democrat and Olympia Time.

Even with an insider's view, O'Connell craves what the other respondents want.

"More than anything, we want authenticity," he wrote. "We're the generation of cable television, telemarketing, infomercials and junk mail. We don't want to be sold; rather, we want to be engaged."

The only way to force open the seemingly impenetrable boundaries of party politics is for a new generation to get involved and not lose sight of the reasons for doing so. Involvement does not necessarily mean working for a candidate or getting a job on a politician's staff. Political involvement should include civic involvement. Only by being engaged in a community can a person truly understand its needs.

Matt Zemek, who occasionally writes guest commentaries on these pages, is a perfect example. He works in The Family Kitchen, a soup kitchen. Zemek's feel for politics is impressive. I wonder why he is not directly involved in the game, while at the same time I'm heartened that a 30-year-old Seattle University graduate is working in a role he finds fulfilling.

Zemek's well-written e-mail prompted a meeting. Over my coffee and his juice, he talked about his desire that politics become a noble calling — an arena where ideas, even ones he does not agree with, are discussed, considered.

"We don't just want to elect a better president. We need a campaign that will elevate the tenor and tone of politics," Zemek said.

Optimistic words in an era of fear and division. But Zemek is right. This country needs the political discussion to be deep, respectful yet forceful, open, less about ideology and more about responsibility.

I want to hear from more 20- and 30-year-olds. Do you agree that politics are in need of an infusion of good conduct? Why are you involved? What has driven you away from politics? What would push you to invest your time and heart?

Ryan Blethen's column appears regularly on editorial pages of The Times. His e-mail address is rblethen@seattletimes.com