Politics 101: Passivity Or Burnout
Why political action doesn’t have to be difficult
Jesse Welty | Feb. 3, 2026
A stack of magazines including issues of The Atlantic in the Pew Learning Center and Ellison Library at Warren Wilson College, on Jan 28, 2026 in Swannanoa, N.C. (Emma Taylor McCallum/Echo)
Time and time again, the claim, “I’m just not into politics,” plagues the exact streets and neighborhoods where active political participation would prove most valuable. This growing attitude, not only among youth but across all generations, that political action is a privilege most can not afford, is a dangerous sentiment that actively threatens the power that communities wield.
This passivity, however, is often the result of widespread burnout in the face of what feels like a perpetual stream of devastation and disaster in the news. For many, the thought of confronting such a reality and bearing the intrinsic emotional tax is too much. When in 2024, an estimated 66% of families were found to be living in poverty, according to data gathered by the U.S. Census Bureau, it stands to reason that most of these individuals are caught in an incessant struggle to ensure basic necessities for themselves and their dependents.
Not only this, the very structure of the neighborhoods and towns many of these families live in hinder their ability to participate in local government affairs. Practices such as partisan gerrymandering undercut the weight that lower-income votes hold, and the overpolicing and unjust criminalization of poverty (chiefly in Black and Brown communities) lead to much higher rates of felony disenfranchisement, given the restriction of voting rights for people with criminal convictions.
The disproportionate lack of time, education and transportation also puts restraints on many working-class people’s ability to participate in local elections, especially when so many of these neighborhoods end up sharing the same, singular voting location – resulting in far higher wait times compared to their higher-income counterparts.
These coinciding mental and physical restrictions result in the widespread belief that political participation, awareness and advocacy efforts are not only futile, but reserved for those with the time and education to dedicate towards such efforts. Such a belief could not be less accurate.
Involvement does not have to be life-altering for it to prove valuable, nor is there a threshold of magnitude that one must reach for the work to be worthwhile. Rather, it can be integrated in a way that is specific and meaningful to each individual. Todd May, author and Nielsen professor of the humanities at Warren Wilson College (WWC), advocates for an approach that focuses more on what one person can do, rather than what they feel they should do in order for it to be considered significant.
“What I always tell people is, don't fix everything,” May said. “Find one thing that you really care about, here's one thing I wanna make better, and then say, ‘I've got an hour a week. I've got two hours a week, and every week, just like I do my job, I'm gonna work on this thing.’”
May also warns against giving in to overwhelmed feelings that many seem to fall prey to when they lack balance. It is easy, especially when personal passions become involved, to attempt too much in too short a time span. Instead, focusing on long-term efforts and goals is what will sustain both the movement and the mental stamina of those involved.
However, there are still those who, in the face of systemic oppression and violence, feel as though protesting is a wasted effort, already accepting the loss against dominating political powers. To this, May suggests a different angle.
“Let's suppose that you can't make it better,” May said. “One question to ask yourself is, what kind of person do I want to be? Do I want to be the person that contributes to it? Or do I want to be the person that doesn't? . . . So, aside from the question of making a difference, there's another question of what kind of people we want to be. Because that's a question that can help sustain you when you feel like what you’re doing isn't making any difference.”
There will never come a time when it is too late to learn or act when it comes to political action. Whether it be through voting, organizing, campaigning or simply self-educating, getting involved can be as straightforward as talking to a friend. Join community groups that advertise themselves through social media or other online platforms, or take advantage of local resource centers and public search engines offering boundless information.
“One person leads to another person, which leads to another person,” May said regarding the number of organizations and resources present in larger communities. “People will know people. So you just keep asking and eventually, if there's something to get to, you'll get there.”
In Buncombe County, there are many organizations ready to welcome and educate community members. Firestorm Books, a radical worker-owned and self-proclaimed “anti-capitalist business,” holds many educational and community-building events. The Asheville chapter of Jewish Voice for Peace is part of a nation-wide, grassroots organization centered around Palestinian liberation that is working to make political advocacy efforts as accessible as possible. For building community, looking to local public libraries can be one of the most beneficial resources. Buncombe County Public Libraries has countless events and groups centered around community relationships and aid such as tax help, children’s bilingual storytimes, technology troubleshooting and scheduled on-site social workers available for free, private assistance.
Every individual's motivations to participate in political action are distinctive and personal to them. It is the responsibility of each individual to take those motivations and turn them into action, however that may look.