Beyond Disillusionment with Politics in America

The warnings have been coming at us fast and frequently for years now. The core message is the same. Our form of democracy in America is unraveling. Political apathy and partisan power struggles are destroying the ideals upon which our nation was formed. Money and the Citizens United ruling have now corrupted and undermined any effective government of the people, by the people and for the people. Those who care about restoring the soul of our democratic republic are quick to point out a host of obvious civic ailments- self-serving politicians vying for control, poor voting turnouts among our citizenry, partisan gridlock in Congress, the lack of government accountability, the strident Blue and Red divide that now exists among us. Some suggest these are merely the symptoms of a deeper national political pathology. Depending on the cacophony of ideologies that exist among us, you can also make a list of other culprits contributing to our political demise: allegations of voter fraud and the flow of illegal immigrants into our country, election gerrymandering, ruinous tax and spend policies, too much corporate welfare, bloated government entitlement programs, the unrestrained upward flow of wealth going to the 1%, the growing national debt, the failure to address the growing economic divide in our country, etc., etc., etc. Even more troubling for the health of our democracy in recent years is the rise of public distrust in our government institutions, the contentiousness over reliable news sources and accepted truth, the promotion of conspiracy theories by elected officials and extremists, and the support of populist leaders who have promoted the “Big Lie” about the 2020 Presidential election. According to newspaper columnist Eugene Robinson, “The greatest threat to our nation’s future is not Covid-19 or the rise of China or even the existential challenge of climate change. It is the Republican Party’s attempt to seize and hold power by offering voters the seductive choice of rejecting inconvenient facts and basic logic”. On the other end of our current ideological divide, “Tucker Carlson, says leaders of the Democratic party should be disqualified from running the country because they “despise” it”.
The political right in America is now dominated by the voices of White grievance and an apocalyptic vision that believes America (indeed “Western civilization”) is under attack from socialists, foreigners, and secularists — with a significant portion of voters aligned with former President Trump who expressed the core of the MAGA movement. Many of these right-wingers have now rejected the sanctity of elections on the basis of unsubstantiated voter fraud claims, opposed the principle of inclusion regarding immigration laws, and expressed a contested view about objective reality and established news media. As columnist Jennifer Rubin has noted, “The consequences have been dire for American politics. The siege mentality has morphed into an ends-justify-the-means style of politics in which lies, brutal discourse, and even violence are applauded as necessary to protect “real America.” Essential features of democracy, such as the peaceful transfer of power, compromise with political opponents and defining America as an idea and not a racial or religious identity, have fallen by the wayside”. Unless a majority of Americans confront these contentious issues and seek to rebuild our democratic institutions this experiment in democracy in America may fail. Political scientists like Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt, and Barbara F. Walter, and writers like Ezra Klein and George Packer have sounded alarms about the decline of democracy in America, the problems with our politically polarized nation, and the ominous future we may face unless we can restore faith in our vital institutions and reclaim our collective identity and commitments as citizens of the United States of America.
I believe that a reaffirmation of our core moral values and a commitment to the common good of all are essential ingredients in this process of rebuilding America in the spirit of “E Pluribus Unum”. The political vision I resonate with most closely in this regard is captured in Adam Russell Taylor’s book entitled A More Perfect Union: A New Vision for Building the Beloved Community. Moving beyond the current political obsession with obtaining and maintaining power to exercise party agendas and to defeat those not in alignment with particular ideologies will require a huge change of hearts and minds within the political discourse in our conversations going on in America today and our in elections. It seems to me that we need to reset the political discourse and move away from strident party politics that seek “win/lose” outcomes. I can only hope that the majority of the citizens in our nation, and our younger generations, in particular, can find the wisdom and courage to look for the “better angels” to lead our communities and our nation into the future.