As we look forward to this year’s federal elections, I want to spotlight one of the fundamental values of our American democracy. Our founders established a political system in which no single person or an elite group, such as a king or an aristocracy, could gain control of the decision-making processes.
James Madison laid out a constitutional structure that divided authority and government functions among three independent and co-equal branches. In the same document, he added checks and balances that assured the three branches would have to cooperate in order to perform the work of government. To further ensure that this structure works democratically, the rule of law, majority vote, due process, an independent judiciary, and civil liberties and rights were added.
Nevertheless, a political system that is ruled without a regal leader proved to be complex and labor intensive. It requires not only the consideration of the majority view, but also incorporation of minority views into the decision-making processes. This process requires the ability to focus on problem solving, bargaining, and compromise.
At the conclusion of the Constitutional Convention in 1787, where the Constitution was finalized, the elderly statesman Benjamin Franklin was the first to leave Independence Hall. On a Philadelphia street, he was approached by a prominent woman, Elizabeth Powell, who asked, “So, Dr Franklin, what kind of government have you given us?” Franklin replied, “A Republic Madame, if you can keep it.” Looking further back, the Greek and Roman political systems were able to sustain democracy for lengthy periods. The Athenian Greek city-state, which lasted around two hundred years, was once a direct democracy. The Roman Republic, which was a representative style of democracy, lasted well over four hundred years. Both political systems endured turmoil, conflict, and difficult disputes. It is well documented that in both cases, during chaotic times, politicians and citizens were able to negotiate, bargain, and reach a compromise. Their ability to reach a bargain brought periods of peace and stability among competing factions. Both democracies collapsed when the leadership lost the ability to negotiate, bargain, and reach a compromise.
The United Kingdom started with a hierarchy of bosses/kingdoms and then traveled a path of close to one thousand years to achieve the representative democracy it enjoys today. And like the ancient Greeks and Romans, the UK fashioned a series of bargains throughout their history, starting with the Magna Carta in 1215 when the King and his nobles struck a bargain where each would provide support and services to the other. This was followed by struggles of war, rebellions, and royal family upheavals that took them to the late 1700s when they developed their representative democracy.
In the case of the US, we have had more than 250 years of experience running a democracy and we have been successful bargaining and reaching compromise during periods of conflict and contention. After all, the US constitution itself is a series of bargains dealing with representation, slavery, managing and repaying the Revolutionary War debt, many amendments, and we continue bargaining to this day. The bargains are far from perfect, and compromises far from ideal. As we go on, we must continue to negotiate, bargain and compromise.
But, today, our political system is in crisis.
We have reached a widening gap of differences in values and beliefs between the extreme left and the extreme right. This polarity has resulted in the extremes demonizing each other, with inflammatory rhetoric leading, on some occasions, to violence. Clearly, all of us want to see something done because it is a major threat to the stability of our democracy. A solution will involve long-term effort. Citizens need to recognize that if we wish to preserve our government without a boss and protect our cherished ]freedom, there is another component that is required– citizen involvement.
Washington, Jefferson, and Madison envisioned that citizens assume responsibility to maintain and protect our democracy. This responsibility includes more than just voting. The founders envisioned citizens would become familiar with the processes and policies that are important to democracy. This is a role all citizens should perform. We need to become familiar with the work of Congress, executive agencies, and courts.
There are many ways that each one of us can become involved. At a bare minimum, we should know about the choices in upcoming elections. We are going to have to elect candidates that have the skills of problem-solving, bargaining and the ability to compromise. The Democracy Action Team of UUSJ and UU the Vote will do their part this year and have launched a major educational campaign to clarify the issues and what is at stake.
We invite you to join us.
Kenneth D. Mitchell