Is Our Government Un-American?

“We are not afraid to follow truth wherever it may lead, nor to tolerate any error so long as reason is left free to combat it” ~Jefferson

          The men conceptualizing our Government had diverse and strongly held opinions. However opinionated, the Founding Fathers were adherents of Enlightenment reason to move our Nation forward in dark uncharted waters. Reason enabled compromise. Democratic governance is an act of compromise.

          Why my fixation on compromise? Our Constitution is a document of compromise. Our nation was birthed in profound compromise. The signing of the four major Revolutionary documents was steeped in compromise. While slavery was held by most people to be a moral evil, it was seen by many to be an economic reality, so this crucial issue was compromised. Representation based on State size and population was compromised. A bi-cameral legislature came about through compromise. Federal versus State rights were compromised. The lack of a Bill of Rights was compromised. The extent of Executive and Judicial powers were compromised. How voting occurred and who could vote was compromised. The ability to make treaties and raise a standing army was compromised. And this was all done by the first Congress. Our current Congress can’t seem to pass a single compromised bill. Compromise is now un-American. I contend that the inability to compromise is un-American and represents the inability or incompetence to govern.

          Both reason and compromise appear to be abandoned in our current political system. Extremists cite the virtues of the Founding Fathers but their actions are the antithesis of these virtues. Modern politics is based on ideological entrenchment and bullying.

          Let’s filibuster and obstruct the other side. The filibuster is not in the Constitution. The filibuster is un-American. The Constitution says that the Senate passes laws based on a majority vote (50%). Current Senate practices requiring more votes than a majority are un-American. There is a reason the Founding Fathers set different vote percentages in the bi-cameral legislature. These were based on reason and compromise.

          Let’s get enough seats and we’ll steam-roller our will over the opposition. Let’s get all of Congress and the President too and we’ll be unstoppable. This is not American governance. It is bullying by a majority. That is un-American.  

“Democracy is an experiment, and the right of the majority to rule is no more inherent than the right of the minority to rule; and unless the majority represents sane, righteous, unselfish public sentiment, it has no inherent right.”  ~William Allen White 

          The formation of our Government has been called the Democratic Experiment. It is so named because our Democracy and system of governance evolves over time, and may ultimately either succeed or fail. Success or failure depends on the People’s ability to monitor and realign excesses and perturbations in our Constitutional system.

          Some people are disappointed that the Supercommittee failed. The Supercommittee was always a posture and pander for the political base during an election year. It’s failure enables our national “problem solvers” to take a year off from work and play the blame game. I point out that more than 11 million foreclosures are in the pipeline next year.

          Congress has proven an inability to compromise. This translates into an inability to govern an American Democracy. It’s bad enough when deals are cut that favor special interests rather than the common good. In our current climate, no deals can be cut. In my opinion, any Congressperson unwilling to compromise should be fired. Lincoln said that our institutions are in the People’s hands. The People might review their history and demand reason and compromise from a broken Congress. It is unlikely that the physicians will heal themselves.