Iowa caucuses aren’t for everyone, and that’s OK

To the vast majority of Iowans who won't be attending the caucuses and have successfully tuned out most of the chaos that will only end on Tuesday, you play an important role. And you could even be more important.

Caucus politics is not for everyone, and that's OK.

Don't get me wrong. If you have interest, by all means dive into the last days of the campaign and attend your caucus and participate. Iowans have the good fortune of a front-row seat – as well as an important voice in the selection of the parties' nominees. For their part, the parties should work hard to reduce barriers to participation.

It's easy to see why some opt to tune out. Innocently turn on the TV or call up the newspaper online, and you're bombarded with ads, a steady stream of attacks, hardly inspiring to seek out more. Yet on a fundamental level, remember that nomination is a political party process, and Americans generally are not too keen about parties.

Granted, winnowing down the number of candidates from double digits to just two is critically important, but arguments for full participation are much stronger for the general election than for the nomination.

For sure, vote in the election next November. But if you're not willing to at least call yourself a Democrat or Republican for an hour or two, then participating in the caucuses probably isn't for you.

For those of you who might denounce the choice to abstain, wondering how one could discount her own voice, just think about the potential rationality of it. Nomination politics is packed with uncertainty for activists, not the least of which involves who the other party will nominate.

In a presidential nomination contest, making a decision that ultimately works to advance what motivates you is not always straightforward, not because people are unintelligent, ill informed or incapable. It's because the nomination season does not offer an optimal decision-making environment.

That said, there is important work for the non-caucus goer, beyond holding down the fort on Caucus Day.

Last week, I travelled around the state with a group of 13 Grinnell College students, not all with a focus on politics, yet everyone game for an adventure filled with candidate events and a glimpse of how the caucuses permeate the life of Iowa, even beyond the obvious.

From Johnson County, ground zero for liberalism, to Pizza Ranch corporate in Orange City, we used the caucuses as an excuse to explore Iowa. We mustered detachment from our own personal politics, granted the students were incentivized with a big grade component hinging on respectful, objective observation. And I lived in fear of the students calling me out, should I slip.

But there's a lesson for those Iowans who have tuned out, and maybe even for those are tuned in. The caucus campaign offers a terrific window on Iowa, the land, the people, the economy.

We had the luxury of seeing spectacular landscape on our trips across the state. KCRG in Cedar Rapids offered a window on the intrigue of political ad buys. We heard really smart people question the candidates-Iowans whose political stances were likely at odds with our own. In Brooklyn, we talked to the powerhouse behind the call center which has the national contract for a top candidate vying for the Republican nomination.

You might not be able to spare much time, but gas is a bargain and there is still time to get to some candidate events-or to quiz your Maid Rite server on what the caucuses mean for business. Or attend a caucus as an observer, something that both parties allow. In fact, not being invested on a personal, political level might yield something particularly productive.

We need clear heads to cut through the chaos, the craziness and even the vitriol of caucus politics. And you might be better positioned than those in the trenches to do that, to experience and reflect on the caucuses in a detached manner.

' Barbara Trish is a professor of political science at Grinnell College and chair of the political science department. Comments: trish@grinnell.edu