Jeff Blodgett ’83 is executive director of Wellstone Action, an organization created to carry on the legacy of the late Senator Paul Wellstone and his wife, Sheila Wellstone, by igniting the leadership in people and the power in communities to create progressive change.

Politics has become a dirty word for a lot of people. There’s a lot of corruption and dysfunction in our government today—and in elections. But to me, democracy is the finest form of governance and it needs to be cherished. Democracy requires involvement; people hold the power to actually make change. Even a small group of people who are organized, focused, and determined can make a difference. Yet people are turned off and cynical, and the result is that half of the people in the country who are eligible to vote don’t vote. Voting is critical to ensuring that democracy functions properly.

The money that powerful economic interests have channeled into elections and into lobbying for certain policies has skewed the notion of representative democracy: one person, one vote. Economic interests end up having more power than an equal number of citizens who are actively engaged, and that’s an enormous barrier to a properly functioning democracy.

We have a polarized political culture in this country currently, but that’s okay. Democracy is about the clash of different ideas, and the best ideas win with a majority of the vote. If those ideas don’t work, then the other side gets to come in. In a democracy that transference of power happens peacefully, but you also have to figure out how to function as a country with divergent viewpoints. Right now we haven’t figured out how to find common ground or compromise, and that’s another barrier to a well-functioning democracy.

But I’m hopeful, because young people see involvement as important. They connect with one another through social networking and new media, which makes them more powerful. Also, the new generations are more accepting of people who are different from them, and I think that will help shed some of this country’s old baggage. I’m optimistic that when the next generation of leaders gets into office—and part of me feels like we can’t get some of these old leaders out of office fast enough—we will see a dramatic change in this country.

For a longer interview, photos, and transcript, click here.