Getting Involved When It Feels Overwhelming: What Political Participation Can Look Like Today

Getting involved in politics can feel simultaneously unavoidable and inaccessible, and many Americans are left wondering how they should engage — or if they should at all.  

For some, the question is where to begin. For others, the sheer pressure of daily life, work, caregiving or fear of saying the wrong thing can be a barrier.  

Allison Anoll, associate professor of Political Science, studies political participation, representation and family life, and argues that civic engagement does not come in a single form. Participation, she says, starts with understanding who you are as a part of a whole, and recognizing that meaningful involvement doesn’t always look the same for everyone. 

Getting Started 

One of the most common misconceptions about political engagement is that it requires leading a movement or building something new. Anoll cautions against that instinct, especially among high-achieving communities like universities. 

“One of the first important things to learn about activism and political change,” she says, “is that you should join. You should find the people who are already doing the work and ask how you can help.” 

Research consistently shows that individuals wield political power most effectively through groups, not on their own. And Anoll emphasizes that joining is not a passive act. It requires listening, learning and recognizing that, on most issues, the groundwork has been laid by those who have come before us.  

Civic associations, advocacy organizations, neighborhood groups and local boards are the engines through which representation typically happens. But today’s American is far less likely to belong to such groups than in the past, a trend Anoll notes has real consequences for democracy.  

For those looking for a practical entry point, Anoll points to local politics. School boards, town halls and municipal meetings tend to be sparsely attended, yet they offer unusually direct access to decision-makers.  

“If you want a place where you can have access and control,” she says, “local politics is a lot of times one of the first places to start.” 

Political Participation in a Busy World 

Traditional measures of political participation such as voting, protesting and campaigning often overlook how people engage when time, money, or personal risk make those activities difficult.  

Anoll’s research challenges the assumption that civic life only happens in public spaces. 

“A lot of these ideas about what political participation looks like come originally from a very male-centric, dominated world,” she says. Activities that happen in the home or private sphere — like raising children, shaping values and having conversations — have historically been dismissed as apolitical, despite their long-term influence.  

Drawing on scholarship that frames the family as “the first school of justice,” Anoll argues that everyday actions can carry political consequences, even when they are not explicitly political. “The bedtime stories we read to our children, the conversations we have at the dinner table, the way we talk to our students,” she says. “These sometimes have political purpose, but they certainly have political consequence.” 

This perspective is especially relevant for parents, caregivers and others facing significant time constraints. Anoll points to research showing that modern parents spend more time with their children than previous generations while often juggling multiple jobs and higher stress levels. In that context, asking people to take on additional public activism can be unrealistic. 

Political engagement, she suggests, should be understood as something that changes across life stages. There may be seasons of life when participation looks like attending rallies or organizing campaigns, and others when it looks like modeling values, teaching, or sustaining community on a smaller scale. 

“We have to reflect on what stage of life we’re in,” says Anoll, “And think about whether civic activism should look like a bedtime story, or whether it should look like flying across the country to go to a rally or a protest.” 
 

Dialogue Across Political Divides 

In an era of polarization, many people struggle with how — or whether — to engage politically with those who disagree with them. Anoll frames this challenge in terms of two competing democratic traditions. 

One emphasizes deliberation: democracy works best when people listen to one another, weigh competing interests, and collaborate. The other tradition, participatory democracy, focuses on exerting pressure — recognizing that some groups have historically been excluded from deliberation and must push to be heard. 

“There are trade-offs and benefits to both of those,” Anoll says. Which approach someone takes often depends on their values, the issue at stake, and whether they believe listening or pressure is more appropriate in a given moment. 

She says the key question is openness. “Are you willing to be convinced?” she asks students. “Are you open to learning something new, or taking information that violates your priors?” Regardless of political orientation, that willingness is central to meaningful engagement. 

Anoll also encourages people to think less about mastering every news cycle and more about understanding how political systems work. Developing frameworks, such as principles on representation, power and accountability, can help people view information from new perspectives without being overwhelmed. 

Finally, she emphasizes the emotional dimension of politics. Fear can drive people away from engagement when they feel isolated. But fear shared within a community can become something else entirely. 

“When we feel scared and together, we tend to engage,” Anoll says. “In these cases, we’re able to change things.”  

What Does it Mean to “Matter?” 

Underlying many questions about political participation is a deeper doubt: does any of it actually matter? For this, Anoll says, we have to think about what “matter” means. 

“Matter how? For what? For how long?” she says. Political action can matter by changing policy immediately, by shaping culture, by influencing future generations, or by making institutions feel more legitimate. Not every action has the same goal, or the same timeline. 

In a society accustomed to instant results, a long view can be difficult to hold. By recognizing multiple pathways to impact, people can stay engaged on their own terms.  

“Political participation isn’t about doing everything,” Anoll says. “It’s about being part of something and understanding that even small acts, over time, are helping to shape the world we share.”