Preserving America For the Tricentennial
In a country claiming the label of “democracy” but where privately-owned weapons outnumber residents, and where compromise between factions seems wholly out of the question in its legislatures and Congress, can a government where all are supposedly equal be maintained without violence? That, dear fellow Americans, is the single issue that could determine whether we (or perhaps our descendants?) can celebrate a Tricentennial in 2076.
When our leaders fail to accept election defeat, when the elderly control the most wealth and power (long beyond their years of sound mental judgment), when partisanship seems even to dominate the Supreme Court of the land, what are the voters who care about the future of the country, more than they care about their own party affiliation, to do in response?
Working to modify the Constitution might be one alternative: But this tends to be a very long, messy process, one that can take decades, rather than months or years, so addressing major issues in this way will not likely be any “quick fix” that rescues our democracy from the anger and sense of betrayal many (on both the right and the left) feel these days toward the federal government.
Taking up arms? France tried that in the early years of its own Revolution, a situation that could easily have prevailed in the united colonies here as well: read up on the attack of disgruntled patriots in Philadelphia against James Wilson, Signer of the Declaration of Independence in 1779, as detailed in a new book by Jesse Wegman, The Lost Founder. Somehow, probably only by the grace of God, the early United States avoided France’s disastrous period of tyranny and bloodshed.
Run for office themselves? Why not? We desperately need candidates of comity and common sense, people who want to make government work for the rest of the people rather than for themselves and their families. Our recent Republican campaign for Fayette County Judge stands out not just for the close result at its conclusion, but for the profoundly gratifying way in which the two finalists comported themselves during the campaign, treating one another respectfully, like friends rather than bitter foes.
Write passionate letters to the editor of the local paper? Why not? Certainly the editor will have to deal with some crackpots who recycle the poison from social media as well as with the often thoughtful passion of more infrequent writers, but the Founders recognized our very strong need for these means of communication by writing into the Constitution’s first amendment the guarantee of “freedom of the press.”
Demonstrate in the streets? Yes, of course: why not show our support for one side or another by peaceful assembly in public displays of our positions on crucial issues? The civil rights era’s use of Gandhi’s and Martin Luther King’s non-violent protest actions are a very significant example of the effectiveness of this for bringing about change in the hearts and minds of the greater public.
Join non-partisan organizations to promote voter registration and education about candidates running for office? Indeed, these organizations exist for bringing together people who work for the long haul, promoting and safeguarding the democratic principles that are guaranteed in the Constitution, assuring they are upheld, fighting court cases against infringements of the rights of citizens and legal residents through thick and thin.
Individually, each of us can be as intent on listening to others as we are on making ourselves heard, for the route to understanding and civility runs through the countryside of respect for one another. I know for certain that St. Peter does not have a roster of Republicans who go to one side and Democrats who go to the other once we get to Heaven. It’s high time we broke down more barriers here on earth, dear readers. What are you doing to preserve our democracy for 2076?