Can We Survive the Madness?Peter O’Brien
http://www.londoncenter.org/can-we-survive-the-madness/print/
It sure seems crazy: a whole raft of candidates, a political party seemingly coming apart at the seams, vicious name-calling, violent demonstrations. One candidate, favored
by many in Washington – educated, understated, sophisticated; one of the others – old, an outsider, vilified by many in Washington, the subject of all sorts of accusations and
willing to threaten some people himself, or so it seems.
And the nation: at a turning point, ready to move into a much different future.
1824 – heck of year.
Others have already said it: there is much about what is going on this year that is reminiscent of 1824 and the election that saw John Quincy Adams become president –
with 30.9% of the popular vote and just 64% of the electoral votes needed to win the office. (Per the 12th Amendment, he was selected by Congress after no candidate achieveda majority).
So, what does that really have to do with the US today?
First, a word about getting too frustrated: participatory government is messy, because everyone gets to ‘play.’ And that’s a good thing. But it doesn’t yield clear
solutions, and it never yields candidates who are even remotely close to perfect. Ever.
George Washington was the closest we’ve had, and he was our first, and he would be the first person to tell you he wasn’t perfect. (He didn’t think himself ready for the position
and wanted to resign after two years as president…)
The only governments that yield clear answers are dictatorships. Their answers are often crystal clear. And are forced down the throats of most of the citizens.
Second, the nation has been through some serious problems and survived. This doesn’t mean we should go around seeking serious problems for no good reason. But it
does mean that the system (as defined within the Constitution) is remarkably resilient; dynamically stable as engineers say: you can put all sorts of stress on it and if you back
off, the system will self-correct. This also means that you mess with the Constitution at your peril; so, let’s not.
But third, we need to recognize what happened at key points in our history, what
opportunities were missed and what problems followed. John Quincy Adams may well
have been the man best prepared to be President. Yet he served only one marginally
effective term. He was followed by Jackson in 1828, a man who dramatically altered the
course of events in this nation, while failing to adequately address the single greatest
problem facing the nation at the time – slavery.
There’s no way to go back and rework history and we can never know what might
have been, but the studied efforts by most of the 9 presidents who followed Jackson to
steer around addressing slavery meant a civil war needed to be fought; it was and nearly
destroyed the country.
Arguably, we’re at another key point in history: the nation is transitioning, old
political power bases are going through dramatic changes even as the nation faces
substantial economic, demographic and structural changes, an expanding government and
expanding budget deficit; and as we face a range of foreign policy issues that include a
rising China, nuclear proliferation, fanatical Islamic terrorists, rapidly fluctuating energy
costs, rising food prices, and the hints of dramatic changes in the offering in the political
structures of Europe and the Middle East.
So, what are we to do?
To begin, let’s remember the Bill of Rights. Freedom of speech and press, and the
right to peacefully assemble might be a good place to start. No one, and I do mean no
one, has all the right answers. And some interesting answers may be found in the things
your opponent is spewing. So, say your piece, but let the other guy talk, too.
Second, remember the Constitution. The political process works if we let it. We
can form a government while under great stress. We had elections in 1812 while the
British were occupying parts of the country. We had elections in 1864 – during the Civil
War. The system can handle great stress; let it work.
And third, let’s insist that all the candidates – and their followers – practice real
civility. Sadly, the last 8 years have seen that word used as a synonym for political
sniping. Let’s remember that, in the end, we’re all Americans.
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