The Idea of America
A November 2017 article in The Atlantic told the story of the founding of the magazine 160 years earlier. The founders were described as “among the leading literary elites of their day.” Their aspiration was for the magazine to “honestly endeavor to be the exponent of what its conductors believe to be the American idea.”
“The American idea” had come from a speech in 1850 by Thomas Parker, a preacher and abolitionist. He said the American idea “comprised three elements: that all people are created equal, that all possess unalienable rights, and that all should have the opportunity to develop and enjoy those rights.” Although the idea “provoked skepticism,” as the writer of The Atlantic article, Yoni Appelbaum, wrote, “as the United States grew and prospered, other peoples around the globe were attracted to its success, and the idea that produced it.”
The “idea of America,” has fallen short of its own ideals: Not all its citizens are treated equally, “unalienable rights” are not always honored, and many are denied the opportunity to develop and enjoy rights. And yet there is “a yearning to believe again in the American story.” The 240-year-old American Academy of Arts and Sciences (AAAS) convened a bipartisan Commission to examine how to “reinvent American democracy for the 21st century.”
Asserting that the nation “is suffering from a crisis of legitimacy that cannot be addressed by any single reform,” the Commission generated 31 recommendations following nearly 50 listening sessions over two years with citizens in rural towns and small and large cities. The recommendations are substantial and impactful, and are intended to proceed in coordination. Only one would require amending the Constitution, namely, overturning the Citizens United decision. The rest can be accomplished through accepted legislative action. Among the 31 recommendations in the report:
- Expand the House of Representatives (and therefore the Electoral College) by at least fifty members.
- Make voting in federal elections mandatory for all citizens.
- Institute ranked choice voting in presidential, congressional and state elections.
- Change federal election day to Veterans Day to honor veterans and ensure a day off work for many people.
- Establish an expectation of a year of national service by all Americans.
- Establish 18 year terms for Supreme Court justices, with appointments staggered.
- Reduce the influence of big money in politics.
Both the Commission report and Appelbaum’s article argue that complacence presents the greatest threat to American democracy, a situation requiring robust initiatives on many fronts. As Appelbaum concludes, “Americans have been most successful when fighting over how to draw closer to the promise of their democracy; how to fulfill their threefold commitment to equality, rights, and opportunity; and how to distribute the resulting prosperity.”
The recommendations of the Commission challenge us as individuals and as a nation to participate in, and to grow the participation of others in the idea of America.
This is the 150th post on Fifty Year Perspective. This and all previous blog posts, dating back to June 2nd, 2014, may be viewed at https://fiftyyearperspective.com/blogs/.