March 15, 2019
In January, I
commented on the failure of leadership in contemporary American politics, and
skipped over the contribution by the people to that sad state. Before addressing the latter issue, let’s try
an intermediate analysis: does the problem lie with our political or social
structures?
Historian
Page Smith, in his book Redeeming the Time, said
this: “I believe that the tendency of history, of all human institutions is
downward, toward complacency, decadence, obtuseness, and coldness of heart, and
that we are saved only by the often obscure but heroic efforts of men and women
whose passion it has been to redeem the world.”[29] The statement that we are saved by
individual effort might suggest that the lack of individual leadership was the
original problem. However, it could be
that institutions, as structures, have an inherent tendency toward obsolescence
and failure.
The Roman
Empire, The Holy Roman Empire and the various European colonial systems provide
examples, as does the medieval Catholic Church, of institutional senility and
collapse. The United States began with
a built-in trigger for dissolution; the conflict between free and slave states.
The Constitution, brilliant achievement that it was, fudged on the issue of
slavery. The two regions competed for
control of new territories and states, and eventually went to war. The South, in seceding, chose one
institution over another, adhering to slavery and declaring the Union to be
obsolete.
In the
aftermath of the war, the Constitution was repaired and improved, and later
additions, including votes for women, came peacefully. However, it is showing its age again in the
distortions of the electoral college.
Capitalism
is an institution which works well for society, but only under the right conditions.
The rise of organized labor and establishment of its rights, and the
imposition of reasonable regulations created a better system, but both of those
controls have weakened and capitalism is another institution in an unhealthy
condition.
Now
return to the role of the people. The
increased tribalism of American society turns differences of view into
conflicts. There are troublesome
attitudes on the left, but the more disruptive ones come from the other
side. The attitude of the right toward
government, ranging from Ronald Reagan’s disdain (“The most terrifying words in
the English language are: I'm from the government and I'm here to help”)
to Grover Norquist’s fantasy (“reduce
it to the size where I can drag it into the bathroom and drown it in the
bathtub”) makes a search for consensus solutions next to impossible. The outer fringe, such as militias and
“patriot” groups threaten violence.
Even those with some sheen of respectability join in. Here’s
Joseph diGenova, former U.S. Attorney: “We are in a civil war. The
suggestion that there’s ever going to be civil discourse in this country for
the foreseeable future is over. . . .
It’s going to be total war.” His
advice: “I vote, and I buy guns. And that’s what you should
do.”[30]
One
survey after another reveals that Americans know little about the world,
current affairs or science. There is an indifference or hostility on the part
of many to such “elitist” pursuits as
reading newspapers or heeding experts.
Part of the blame again is institutional, as schools and even colleges
seem not to teach such basics as U.S. history and civics, and mainstream media
sometimes fail to educate, for example as to the extent and effects of climate
change. Any natural tendency toward
misinformation is greatly exacerbated by the internet. In effect, we have created an entity which,
while it could have developed better citizens through greater dissemination of
facts, threatens to destroy other institutions through rumor, propaganda,
fantasy and falsehood. The Russians
used the web to influence the election, but we’re doing rather well at self-destruction
without help. Fear and resentment of
others is built into most of us but, again, those tendencies can be minimized
or exacerbated by leaders and institutions.
Allowing
for all of that, the people are part of the problem. Trump’s 90% approval rating among Republicans is proof
enough. Even one who receives political
information from Fox or the dregs of the internet would have to close his eyes
and cover his ears in order not to be aware that we are led by a buffoon and a
liar. Ignorance may be excusable;
wilful ignorance is not.
All of
this anti-government sentiment implicates another systemic weakness: “Our
political institutions were not built to handle a highly polarized situation in
which one side is hostile to the system itself.”[31]
So: Are
the American people at fault for the present situation, or are we confronted by
institutional failure? Yes to both, but
the real question is where do we go from here, which returns us to the need
for, and present lack of, constructive leadership. Perhaps 2020 will bring some improvement. We’d better hope so.
_______________________
29. A People's History of the United States, vol. 8 (1987), p. 1140
30. https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/in-america-talk-turns-to-something-unspoken-for-150-years -civil-war/2019/02/28/b3733af8-3ae4-11e9-a2cd-307b06d0257b_ story.html?utm_term=.c87d3f657d86
31. Hacker and Pierson, American Amnesia, p. 320
