Drunk with Power

I couldn't agree more with the view that it would be good for America to have a Democratic President and a filibuster proof Congress. There are just too many programs for the good of the country that have languished or been passed so modified that the sponsors' original intent was all but covered up. These programs must now be revived and some of the legislation that was most outrageously jingoistic and hysterical repealed. Trickle-down economics have been thoroughly discredited, though why it took so long and why were two catastrophic crises necessary to hammer that realization in the general public are questions that point more to that public's own shortcomings that to the obvious greed of those who benefited the most from eight years of laisser faire. There is something that must be wrong in the land at large when, despite such catastrophes, coming on top of lesser but nonetheless painful breakdowns of our governing system such as the Katrina-FEMA and Enron disasters, there is obviously still a large segment of the voting or at least politically aware public likely to vote for the same clique as that which either brought on or allowed those catastrophes and disasters to happen in the first place. Despite encouraging polls, Democrats still fear a last minute resurgence, akin to that which rolled over Al Gore four years ago, and they are entirely right to have that fear and to do everything in their power to see to it that this resurgence prove futile.

Unfortunately, even if Democrats are able to overcome a Republican spasm of conservatism, one needs still wonder how it could happen in the face of the problems we face as a Nation and what we, Democrats, must do to change the public perspective from anachronistic conservatism to a modern realization we are all interdependent, that we must and can rely on each other and that we must treat even the least deserving (by whatever criteria) among us as one of us.

Greed is, rightfully, blamed for many of America's failures to recognize that interdependence but is not the sole culprit. There still is, at large in the land, a meritocratic mindset as well as a mindless religious piety that, together, ensure that misery will continue unabated and periodic meltdowns will reoccur. The piety makes the mindset immune to criticism by closing off avenues of enquiry and endowing the greedy with an aura of righteous justification. It invades every political discussion, hobbling debate and threatening to demonize anyone and anything that rejects or even dares to question its dogmas.

The mindset is one that, unfortunately, is the legacy of every Nation with a colonial origin. From the very first adventurer's arrival on our shores, to all of the "huddled masses" that came later, survival against the forces of Nature and Man was the main driving force. The fittest, or sliest, survived, a hardy breed that resisted government intrusion or collective action of most any kind if it interfered with their personal pursuits. Merit, alias shrewdness, inhabited those adventurers and their descendants, as a key to the gates of the kingdom. Lost entirely in the maelstrom of raw, competing interests was the imperative for a society to be socially conscious and for members of that society to work as hard towards making that society supportive of the basic needs of its members, including the least talented among them, and, at the same time, be respectful of the rewards for everybody of the hard work, ingenuity and vision of its most talented. That imperative is what makes a society coalesce into a successful organism, where 'a rising tide lift all boats', not just those of the more meritorious.

We have an historic opportunity to remold that mindset, place merit where it properly belongs on the scale of human appreciation and place the social good at the forefront of our collective and individual goals. We need to teach our children about the value of civism, the betrayal inherent in the failure to participate in the political process, and most of all, to vote. That should be part of the abc of learning, from the very earliest years, so that each may understand that he or she not only has an obligation to join in the governance of the country but an opportunity to make his or her voice heard above the spins and the lies and the dogmas and the right to adequate protection in the face of adversity.

We must, however, as Democrats, be aware of the potential for abuse of the power that can come with a filibuster proof Congress. However much such a Congress, together with a Democratic Administration, can right the wrongs and create a better society for all of us, it cannot cram its mandate down the throats of those who disagree. There is nothing particularly wrong with partisanship, as it can frequently be the means needed to overthrow a sclerotic majority, but once that sclerosis is extirpated, the mindset modernized and the piety left to society's members' private concerns, it must be an equal imperative for partisans to provide room and satisfaction for even their worst enemies. Only then can we be assured that we ourselves, activists and all, do not fall victim to the same shortsightedness whose consequences now threaten to engulf an otherwise respectable party. We must indeed "take back America", for it has been hijacked by the greedy and the irresponsible acting under color of patriotism, religion, and the ambiguous mantra of "American values" but we must also contribute to the updating of such values in the 21st century so that everybody's boat will indeed rise. We must do so with care, so our newly found power does not corrupt us.

Views expressed on this page are those of the authors and not necessarily those of Campaign for America's Future or Institute for America's Future