Citizens of a Democracy: Where the Buck Really Stops
by
Andrew Bard Schmookler

These days , it seems, theAmerican people aren't happy with how their government is working. One hears a lot of complaints, a lot of blaming of big government, irresponsible government, foolish government.

Here are some of the chief complaints that are heard.

We've got gridlock, and the people want their national business taken care of.
The federal deficit has been too large too long, and the people want the gap closed.
Taxes are too high, the people want government to leave them more of their money.
Politicians make promises and don't keep them, and the people want leaders they can trust.

We hear a lot about what's wrong with our government. What we don't hear much about is what role the citizenry --we, the people-- play in these problems. You'd think that our government was just something that happens to us, not that it is a democracy which is a government OF the people and BY the people.

So I would like for us today to look at our role in the problems we complain about. Consider our complaints, from gridlock to dishonest politicians: would our government work better if we were in some ways better at our job as citizens of democracy? What are the virtues that are required of the people for a democratic polity to work well? How well do we measure up these days? Where we fall short, why do we, and what would have to change for us to be up to the job?

It seems to me that a lot of people simply take citizenship in a free society for granted, that there is little sense that membership in a democracy entails shouldering any significant burden of responsibility. That, I would say, is a dangerous illusion.

It seems to me that compared with the generations of our Founding Fathers, we think little and talk little about the virtues that a healthy democratic polity requires of its citizens. But this, I would argue, is something that deserves real attention.

So I would like to turn the conversation from the usual complaints about our government leaders to examine how our government's faults are a mirror of our own.

Here are some questions that we might consider. If we'd rather not be bothered with politics, because it's not our thing, are we entitled to just go about our own private affairs and leave the political arena to others? For a democratic society to endure and to function well, do its citizens have to master the skills of clear thinking, of rational discourse? When we consider alternative policies, are we obliged to think about anything beyond our own self-interest, even beyond our "enlightened" self-interest, and the interests of our own lineal descendants? How tolerant should we be of different points of view-- and are there limits to how much we should tolerate? How are we doing in these respects?

Obviously, from the questions I am asking, I think that a democracy does demand of its citizens that they embody certain virtues, and that we do not meet those demands as well as would be good.

It's worth pondering why it is we don't usually hear much about our role in our political system's problems. Think of it this way: who's going to tell us? Who would dare?
In olden times, when the King was sovereign, people paying Court to the King developed great skill at flattery. "Your exalted majesty, every word you say is pure gold, your every move full of grace." Now we live in a democracy, and it is the people who are sovereign.

What is the same is that the sovereign is still coddled and flattered.

Now, when candidates come around paying Court to us during election campaigns, the phrase "the American people" is used in the same spirit of flattery as the King used to enjoy. The phrase "The American people say this, or want that" is intoned as if that meant it were the voice of Wisdom itself. Political leaders never say to us, "Hey, people. Shape up." I think it's worthwhile thinking about what that reluctance to criticize us says about us.
Like the kings of old, if we the people are going to become aware of our shortcomings, we'll have to do the job of self-examination ourselves.

So let's talk about it.