BBC Radio 4 2016-06-28

It is easy to feel dismayed, confused and anxious over what we are witnessing in our political life at the moment. Not only is there a real sense of political vacuum but some have made a charge of moral vacuum as many politicians seem too busy jostling for their own positions in this rapidly unsettling environment. As the rhetoric of seismic shifts continues, politicians and the media have been given plenty to chew over but for those who are worried for their futures, this new world is creating something akin to an existential angst around cultural identity and belonging.

Yet rather than feel disenfranchised from the democratic process, it seems to me that this is precisely the time to be more politically engaged. One person I spoke to recently dismissed British politics as a white man’s game in which he felt he had no stake and no voice. Except that we all do have a voice. And despite the fragmentation of certain structures, this isn’t the time to lose hope. Rather than just value the result, we have to value the system and parliamentary democracy for all its limitations is still a force for good when it puts people before personal gain.

If visionary leadership is important so is personal engagement. The mistake we often make is to think that politics is about politicians when its actually about citizens – it’s about our lives. Without engagement, so many changes of the last few decades wouldn’t have happened, feminist movements and the struggle for equality, race relations acts, gay rights and all kinds of human rights legislations which have enhanced our dignity and freedoms. It is not the time to lose faith in politics, it’s the time to rekindle our faith.

For me engagement is about keeping hope alive. And keeping hope alive in the midst of so much uncertainty is a civic but also a religious duty. I see this in the way I think of worship – I can’t think of God on the basis of fear and awe alone but rather hope. This isn’t because hope wipes out fear but it can lead us to a calmer, more generous place inside ourselves and in our relationships with others.

Many are beginning to condemn democratic engagement, with a cynicism akin to Churchill’s words, “The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter.” And yet when we see half the world struggling even dying in their hopes for more freedoms, we should be reminded of just how precious our democracy is. Even if it leads to instability or to contested decisions, the system keeps people accountable. And however much we think of it as broken or distant, without our own robust engagement we will not be able to reimagine better ways of being, hoping and living.