Tag Archives: American crisis

American Identity, American Heritage

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As we look forward from the current state of disorder, dependable local communities will be the only stable condition in which we can prepare for the future.

Community is the seat of civilization, made real because it is personal. It is in local community where we can engage with one another face-to-face, building trust, tending to needs, learning patience and responsibility.

Our strength comes with diversity and depends upon our readiness to rise above our differences to build a welcoming, all-inclusive society. This is the essence of our humanity, our heritage and the source of the nation’s greatness.

These things don’t just happen by coincidence. They are formed in the trials of hardship and necessity. They are given character by our vision and purpose.

Like marriage, a commitment to community forces us to mature as adult people – emotionally, intellectually, and spiritually. Perhaps this is why so many avoid participating fully.

There are, however, other reasons for committing ourselves to local responsibility. Beyond the boundaries of family, community is the place to address the immediate needs we face, to engage in democratic decision-making and to solve problems.

Americans have abdicated personal responsibility for these aspects of civilized life for a long time, and we have done so at our peril.

It was not always this way. Prior to the American Revolution, and for close to 100 years afterward, Americans gravitated easily, even impulsively, toward local governance and an independent frame of mind. We managing our own affairs in cooperation with our neighbors and accepted regional autonomy as a natural condition.

Civil society flourished in nineteenth century America, a vibrant force documented admiringly by Alexis de Tocqueville in his 1840 volume, Democracy in America. Americans created an immense variety of civic organizations to address every conceivable social need and activity. People did this on their own initiative, inspired by their sense of belonging and the spirit of the times.

An American return to community, both in spirit and as a practical matter, is as important today as it has ever been. It can only be through engaging with our neighbors in all spheres of problem-solving that we will learn the skills for living and working productively as fellow citizens.

As Americans, we have been here before and we can do it again.

There are those who argue that the decentralist tradition of the American past represents an ideal to which we should aspire. This is an attractive vision. Yet, I think it should be plain for all to see that there must be a balance struck between a constituency of fully engaged local communities and a competent, benevolent and trustworthy centralized government.

At the present juncture, it is difficult to imagine a limited central government managed by mature adults who are responsible for protecting both our freedoms and our security. But, that is what we need. Without law there can be no freedom.

I believe that a valid and well-reasoned vision of limited government for the American future can only come from local communities. Those who understand trust, moral responsibility, and constructive action – and who recognize the very high stakes involved – will build the foundations for the American renewal with their neighbors.

We can only meet necessity through personal initiative and meaningful dialog. And, the most effective leaders will be those who serve with quiet restraint and minimal drama.

Building unity within communities is a gradual process that depends on each of us to reach out across differences of tradition, politics, and culture to influence the hearts and minds of our neighbors, to form friendships and to truly understand one another.

What is essential is that Americans stand together, making firm our commitment to such values as will guide a free and just nation.

This will take time. By necessity we must refocus our vision of the future in such positive terms that partisan politics will be powerless to resist.

Tom

Freedom and Stability in Governance

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The structure of the Constitution is simple yet profound. It carefully restrains the passions of factionalism, however intense, from imposing destructively on either minority or majority. It limits the potential for regional conflict and ensures the strength to confront external threats.

It is the antagonistic divisiveness current among Americans that concerns us here.

“Give all the power to the many,” wrote Alexander Hamilton, “they will oppress the few. Give all the power to the few, they will oppress the many.”

To understand how and why we depend on the Constitution as we navigate through crises, it will be useful to consider both the carefully reasoned manner in which it was conceived and the negative reaction that it at first inspired.

The founders made a great effort to see into the future.

It can be instructive to review some of the numerous essays and polemics that were published in the American colonies during the period when the proposed document was being considered for ratification. Among these, a series of 85 commentaries was published in 1787 and 1788 for the purpose of supporting ratification by three members of the Constitutional Convention.

The three writers, who originally shared the pseudonym, “Publius”, were Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and James Madison. Later consolidated into a single volume as The Federalist, the assembled papers were said by Thomas Jefferson, another participant at the Convention, to be “the best commentary on the principles of government, which ever was written,” a view many legal scholars agree with today.

The Federalist remains an authoritative text often cited in major court cases and has appeared in the debates surrounding virtually every constitutional crisis. Another collection entitled The Anti-Federalist Papers, edited by Ralph Ketcham, is also easily available.

Readers are encouraged to investigate the issues reflected in the debate that led to ratification.

In the end, the outcome turned out not to be in question except in New York, where the State Constitutional Convention passed it by only three votes. But, the debates remain instructive and bear a strong similarity to many of those we find ourselves engaged in today.

As an example, I refer you here to the way the framers of the Constitution addressed an inevitable challenge to both fundamental freedoms and effective governance.

In The Federalist, Number 10, James Madison argues that there is no more important purpose in structuring a sound government than that of limiting the “violence” of factionalism.

Responding to the issues prevalent in the colonies immediately following the Revolutionary War, Madison writes that: “Complaints are everywhere heard…, that our governments are too unstable; that the public good is disregarded in the conflicts of rival parties; and that measures are too often decided, not according to the rules of justice, and the rights of the minor party, but by the superior force of an interested and overbearing majority.”

Does this not sound familiar to the citizen of today?

Madison continues:

“As long as the reason of man continues fallible, and he is at liberty to exercise it, different opinions will be formed. As long as the connection subsists between his reason and his self-love, his opinions and his passions will have a reciprocal influence on each other; and the former will be objects to which the latter will attach themselves.

“The latent causes of faction are thus sown in the nature of man; and we see them everywhere brought into different degrees of activity, according to the different circumstances of civil society…. So strong is this propensity of mankind, to fall into mutual animosities, that where no substantial occasion presents itself, the most frivolous and fanciful distinctions have been sufficient to kindle their unfriendly passions, and to excite their most violent conflicts.

“But the most common and durable source of factions, has been the various and unequal distribution of property. Those who hold and those who are without property have ever formed distinct interests in society. Those who are creditors, and those who are debtors, fall under a like discrimination. A landed interest, a manufacturing interest, a mercantile interest, a monied interest, with many lesser interests, grow up of necessity in civilized nations, and divide them into different classes, actuated by different sentiments and views.

“The regulation of these various and interfering interests forms the principal task of modern legislation, and involves the spirit of party and faction in the necessary and ordinary operations of government….

“The inference to which we are brought,” Madison concludes, “is that the causes of faction cannot be removed; and that relief is only to be sought in the means of controlling its effects.”

Tom

Next week: A different kind of nation

Freedom and Stability: A Careful Balance

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We are confronted today with increasing danger and instability. In rebuilding the dynamic balance between freedom and stability in the United States, there are many negative forces and potential threats to be acknowledged.

We must act carefully and not throw away our inheritance.

Americans have been provided with a simple and carefully considered model for governance that has protected us from most forms of excess for 200 years.

Our politicians have complicated things, but the basic principles are plain and straightforward. Where partisanship or bad judgment have corrupted good governance, the unique structure of our republican form of government has always guided the return to reason, however tough the medicine or jarring the upheaval.

Sometimes all we see are the threats to principle or the dysfunction of institutions. But the constitutional structure we have inherited has a durable balance that will always recover.

To correct serious problems such as we see today, it will be necessary to keep our purpose in perspective. And surely our immediate purpose includes the safety of our families and the ability to address pressing material problems in cooperation with our neighbors.

A balance is necessary between local and national. We have allowed our personal responsibility to slide and permitted distortions to develop.

Ours is a nation of both principles and laws. This provides a degree of stability and allows us to listen to one another respectfully – if we so chose.

The Constitution provides us with a structure within which to manage our affairs and restrain abusive behaviors.  It was not intended to outlaw foolishness, and it has not. Rather it was designed to permit a nation to emerge and prosper while protecting minorities from the majority, the majority from minorities, and the government from itself.

The framers of the Constitution recognized that our liberties can only be defended by confronting the natural human propensity to impose ourselves on one another whenever possible. Without some degree of federal power, they believed that the natural rancor of politics would lead to the oppression of minorities, wars between independent states, and vulnerability to external threats.

However, this centralized power must be constrained by a vigilant citizenry. We must take responsibility for making the structure work as it was intended. A balance must be ensured by citizens who understand the meaning and purpose of this unique form of governance.

If we seek to build a world where prosperity is possible, where our children can be safe and personal freedoms are respected, it will be necessary to first create a stable environment for addressing problems, resolving conflicts, and building effective institutions.

In my view, this can only be done in the context of organized, self-possessed and forward-looking local communities — our own communities.

Community is the seat of civilization, made genuine because it is personal. It is in our local communities that we engage one another face to face, cementing trust, tending to needs, learning patience and responsibility. Here it is among friends and neighbors that we can find the confidence to envision the future and look forward from the disorder of the present.

Our strength comes with diversity and our readiness to rise above our differences to build a vibrant, welcoming and free-spirited society. This is the essence of our heritage, our humanity, and the source of the nation’s greatness.

Trust and responsibility don’t just appear by good fortune. They are formed in the trials of necessity and hardship, and inspired by commitment and purpose.

Beyond the boundaries of family, community is that place where immediate needs present themselves and must be resolved. As government loses its capacity to manage, we will have no one to look to except ourselves.

Americans have abdicated personal responsibility for this aspect of civilized life for a long time, and we have done so at our peril.

It was not always this way. Prior to the American Revolution and for close to 100 years afterward Americans gravitated easily, even impulsively, toward decentralized local governance and an independent frame of mind.

They managed their own affairs in cooperation with their neighbors and accepted regional autonomy as a natural condition.

I believe the time has come to accept responsibility for what we have been given by those who came before us.

Tom

Next week: Freedom and Stability in Governance

A Disciplined Freedom

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The future of the United States is rooted in a storied past. When the first European settlers came to North America and dispersed into the forests and across the open plains, they had only their own initiative, ingenuity, and self-reliance to depend upon. No one was there to counsel them about the requirements for survival.

The meaning of freedom and responsibility were determined by harsh realities. Intrepid settlers also relied on one another as neighbors, so long as each took responsibility for themselves. Self-reliance and the acceptance of personal responsibility lead to mutual respect, and ultimately to self-respect. Whining and complaint don’t fly, however tough the circumstances.

We now find ourselves coming full circle to a time when some of the requirements of the early American frontier may become necessary once again. The physical circumstances look different, but the challenges will increasingly resemble those of an earlier time – when we were forced to stand on our own feet, depending on inventiveness, cooperation, and reliability in the context of community.

Most of us have become accustomed to the culture of dependence that easy credit and a well-funded government have engendered. But, this cannot possibly continue. Government will rapidly lose its capacity to function in the coming years. A depressed and heavily indebted economy will not support the government services we are used to, and this is likely to be with us for a long time.

As the Government finds itself unable to deliver promised commitments without devaluing the currency, our standard of living will deteriorate significantly. We will be called upon to learn the lessons of self-reliance and social responsibility demonstrated by those earlier Americans in the past who taught us a wisdom borne of hardship and hard work.

The individualism encouraged in the past by the relative freedom of unlimited physical frontiers must now be disciplined and refocused: Disciplined by the necessity to maintain our balance as we navigate through multiple crises, and refocused by the need to develop practical responses to complex material problems.

Maintaining stability will become a major concern because without it we cannot keep our families safe, and because cooperation and constructive effort cannot take place in chaos.

Some argue that creative change is born of instability, because it overcomes natural resistance to changing outdated customs. While this may be true, I don’t think we need to go looking for instability. We are not going to be able to avoid it. Good ideas and promising endeavors will be both born and destroyed in the coming days. I fear there will be no absence of opportunity for injury and trauma to our families. The ground is shifting beneath our feet.

We will have to fight for stability to get it back. If we seek to build a world where prosperity is possible, where our children can be safe and personal freedoms are respected, it will be necessary to create a stable environment for addressing problems, resolving conflict, and building capacity.

What will matter first and foremost will be our ability to work together, rising above our differences to build the foundations for safe communities, food security, and a functioning local economy.

In the coming weeks we will be thinking about how the Constitution of the United States has made such a diverse, strong-willed and combative nation possible for 200 years, and then go on to consider the social history and ideas influencing our national character.

This will be important for two reasons: It will assist us to approach the present difficulties with a balanced historical perspective, and to focus our best thinking on seeking a future we can respect and feel good about.

What are the ultimate outcomes we wish to seek?

Tom Harriman

Next week: Freedom and Stability, Finding the Balance.

All your strength is in union…

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“All your strength is in union, all your danger is in discord.”

–Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

The Challenge We Must Rise To

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Last week I introduced you to James Surowiecki’s observations regarding democratic decision-making in his book, The Wisdom of Crowds. Offering convincing evidence that wisdom can be found in large groups if we know how to look for it, Mr. Surowiecki challenges our understanding of democracy.

None of us would expect the citizens of a democratic republic to make objective decisions when they have individual interests at stake. However, he reports startling results when aggregating the thinking of unrelated groups of strangers.

Importantly, Mr. Surowiecki emphasizes the necessity for both diversity of viewpoints and independence in thinking.

I would suggest that wisdom can also be found more intentionally, and intelligently, when we are fully committed to seeking the greater good. And this is most effective when we are committed to the safety and well-being of our friends and neighbors.

Such commonality of intention has certain basic requirements of course. Local initiatives will always depend on shared purpose, and to a large extent on shared values. And, this can only happen when we rise above our differences to appreciate the diversity of our knowledge, our varied experience and unique ways of seeing things.

Unity cannot exist in a state of sameness. It only comes into being with the embrace of differences. Living with diversity presents us with the necessity for learning how to engage with one another in practical ways. Nothing will be possible otherwise.

In Chapter One, American Crucible, I quote Peggy Noonan’s heartfelt call to the American people in her little book, Patriotic Grace, What It Is and Why We Need It Now. In it she urges us to rise above our differences, however significant they may be, to reaffirm “what it is to be an American.”

Rarely has there been a time in the past of this extraordinary country when it has been more important to consider and to reaffirm what it is to be an American.

Peggy Noonan puts it to us like this:

“Politics is a great fight and must be a fight; that is its purpose. We are a great democratic republic, and we struggle with great questions. One group believes A must be law, the other Z. Each side must battle it through, and the answer will not always be in the middle. The answer is not always M.

“But we can approach things in a new way, see in a new way, speak in a new way. We can fight honorably and in good faith, while—and this is the hard one—both summoning and assuming good faith on the other side.

“To me it is not quite a matter of ‘rising above partisanship,’ though that can be a very good thing. It’s more a matter of remembering our responsibilities and reaffirming what it is to be an American.

“…And so I came to think this: What we need most right now, at this moment, is a kind of patriotic grace—a grace that takes the long view, apprehends the moment we are in, comes up with ways of dealing with it, and eschews the politically cheap and manipulative. That admits affection and respect. That encourages them. That acknowledges the small things that divide us are not worthy of the moment; that agrees that the things that can be done to ease the stresses we feel as a nation should be encouraged, while those that encourage our cohesion as a nation should be supported.

“I’ve come to think that this really is our Normandy Beach, …the key area in which we have to prevail if the whole enterprise is to succeed. The challenge we must rise to.”

Some readers will recoil from the suggestion that “small things… divide us.” Some feel strongly that very substantial thing divide us. I am quite sure that Peggy Noonan would not want to minimize the significance of our concerns.

But, she has a point. We can acknowledge the things that divide us, address them in a respectful manner, and unite to strengthen the nation to protect the civil order that allows us our freedoms. Or, we can let it all come to naught.

I never said it would be easy. I said we have no choice.

Tom

Next week: A Disciplined Freedom

For myself, alone…

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“It is not for me to judge another man’s life. I must judge, I must choose, I must spurn, purely for myself. For myself, alone.”

–Hermann Hesse

Unexpected Wisdom

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How has the American identity formed itself amid conflicting ideas, beliefs, and perspectives? How has the clash of differing opinions contributed to strength?

The idea that unity is strengthened by diversity may sound counter-intuitive at first, but it is measurable and irrefutable.

In his book, The Wisdom of Crowds, James Surowiecki describes compelling evidence that large groups of people possess an extraordinary power to solve problems when their judgment is aggregated, and that the more diverse the crowd, the more efficient the solutions.

Citing a variety of examples, author Surowiecki presents a fascinating description of the conditions in which democratic decision-making does and does not work.

In his introduction to The Wisdom of Crowds, we hear of the surprise of scientist Francis Galton when 787 participants in a raffle at a county fair submitted guesses at what the weight of a large ox would be after it had been slaughtered and dressed.

“The analogy to a democracy, in which people of radically different abilities and interests each get one vote, had suggested itself to Galton immediately. ‘The average competitor was probably as well fitted for making a just estimate of the dressed weight of an ox, as an average voter is of judging the merits of most political issues on which he votes,’ he wrote.”

Galton, who wished to support his view that “the average voter” was capable of very little good judgment, borrowed the tickets from the organizers following the competition. He then ran a series of statistical tests on them. Among other things, he added all the contestants’ estimates and calculated the average.

The crowd had guessed that the ox, after it had been slaughtered and dressed, would weigh 1,197 pounds. In fact, it weighed 1,198 pounds.

Another example described by Surowiecki is the story of the 1968 loss of the United States submarine Scorpion, which disappeared in the mid-Atlantic Ocean. The Navy had no idea what happened to the vessel, where it was, or how fast it had been traveling.

Mr. Surowiecki recounts the story as told by Sherry Sontag and Christopher Drew in their book Blind Man’s Bluff, about how a naval officer named John Craven assembled a group of people – mathematicians, submarine specialists, and salvage men – provided them with a number of varied scenarios, and asked them to offer their best guesses without benefit of discussion each other. All they knew was the sub’s last reported location.

The group laid wagers on why the submarine ran into trouble, on its speed as it headed for the ocean floor and on the steepness of descent, among other things.

Craven built a composite picture of what happened and calculated the group’s collective estimate of where the submarine was. The location he came up with was not a location suggested by any members of the group. But, that is where it was.

The Navy found the wreck 220 yards from where Craven’s people said it would be.

Mr. Surowiecki proceeds to demonstrate the surprising consistency of this outcome in widely varied circumstances. And, he explains how groups work well in some circumstances better than others.

As we all know, there are times when aggregating individual judgments produces a collective decision that is disastrous; a riot, for example, or a stock market bubble.

Interestingly, he writes: “Diversity and independence are important because the best collective decisions are the product of disagreement and contest, not consensus or compromise.

“An intelligent group, especially when confronted with cognition problems, does not ask its members to modify their positions in order to let the group reach a decision everyone can be happy with. Instead, it figures out how to use mechanisms – like market prices, or intelligent voting systems – to aggregate and produce collective judgments that represent not what any one person in the group thinks but rather, in some sense, what they all think.

“Paradoxically, the best way for a group to be smart is for each person in it to think and act as independently as possible.”

Later in the present project, we will look at practical methods by which groups with diverse viewpoints can engage in creative problem-solving and decision-making in a manner that transcends consensus, even when face-to-face, to reach unexpected and mutually satisfying outcomes.

Tom

Next week: The challenge we must rise to

Finding Our Strength

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The choice is ours. We can acknowledge our differences, address one another with dignity, and unite in our communities to address local needs and resolve local problems. Or, we can accept a world of hostility, disorder, and ultimate collapse as our children’s inheritance – and let the vision and the treasure of the American idea slip away.

Some may say that it is too late. Or, that their principles are too important to be compromised.

I say that the United States was conceived in controversy and that the powerful vision of the founders came with recognition that strength in unity can only be founded upon diversity.

Indeed, it will be argued here that diversity is the foundation for strength, and that the United States Constitution is a visionary assertion of this belief. They gave us structure. It is our responsibility to give it character.

Given our great diversity, what exactly does it mean to be an American? The answer that we choose as a nation will determine the shape of our future. We will be returning to this question again and again throughout the forthcoming book.

We find ourselves confronted today by one of the great tests of history, a direct challenge to both the intent enshrined in the Constitution and the coherence of the American vision that has been gradually maturing for more than two hundred years.

Perhaps we have lost our way for periods of time, stumbled, gotten sloppy. But now it is time to pull together. And, in all practicality this can only take place in the context of our local communities – the home of democracy and seat of civil order.

In a free society, stability cannot be imposed from above. The kind of strength we seek is grounded in trust, and the dependability of personal relationships.

I am not writing about a “recovery” from crisis in the normal sense. Rather, I submit that we stand at the threshold of an unprecedented turning point, one that offers us a window of opportunity to reaffirm and assert our exceptional and multifaceted identity.

In considering our approach to new and unexpected challenges in a rapidly changing world, we are positioned to make positive changes, both pragmatic and ethical, that would have been impossible otherwise. I believe a creative process is now underway that would not otherwise have been possible.

A tough lesson like this can correct weaknesses and imbalances that have led to these crises, but success can only be built on the time-tested principles that have made America an attractive model for the world.

We will go on to consider the foresight of the Constitutional Convention of 1787 that led to the system of protections, the checks and balances that makes this nation what it is. First, however, let’s examine the reasons that diversity has ensured American strength – not as a nice idea, but as a pragmatic necessity.

When, as individuals or groups, we address a problem or plan a project, the more varied the perspective and experience that is brought to bear, the more creative and effective will be the solutions found. This is an irrefutable truism.

In many institutions, and particularly in government, people are often afflicted with a condition called ‘group-think’. Everyone thinks the same way and listens only to those they most respect or fear. Consequently, groups often ignore obvious fallacies and misperceptions. Not only that, they tend to scorn perceptive critics as trouble-makers.

Our resistance to accepting diversity is often based in our discomfort with those we perceive as “outsiders”, who look or think differently than we do, or who come from unfamiliar cultural backgrounds. Yet, differences constitute the essence of diversity, and they can sometimes stimulate our thinking in ways we can ill afford to live without.

Why are we afraid of new and different ways of thinking? No one is asking us to change our minds.

Aristotle said that “it is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.”

The opportunity to explore the world through the eyes of other people is a blessing and a gift. A life filled with diversity is an adventure that never stops giving.

Tom

Next week: Unexpected Wisdom

Good Neighbors Are Earned

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Where to begin? If local communities are to serve as the foundation for healing the American spirit and reclaiming our sense of purpose, we must learn to make them strong – dependable, trustworthy, and resilient.

Many of us are not well acquainted with our immediate neighbors, much less those around the corner or down the road. If we want good people to depend on in a serious crisis, this has to change. Many problems are more easily resolved when we team up with others. Think food security, or friends we can trust when the banks close or the power goes out.

I have shared my concerns with you about the critical role of local communities. I have explained why I believe local communities and networks of communities will become the essential platform on which Americans reorganize themselves to identify common values, plan a common future, and forge a common purpose.

Building on the solid ground we foster in neighborly relationships, community is the only place in these extreme days where we have both the ability and the opportunity to control our destiny.

As each of us looks around and assesses our circumstances, how can we begin?

Those of you who are naturally outgoing will find this discussion simplistic. But for others the challenge of reaching out to strangers and proposing a common endeavor will be imposing.

There are several kinds of challenges to consider. These include: 1) getting acquainted with strangers and developing friendships, 2) explaining our motives honestly and our ideas effectively, 3) cooperation in addressing local needs, and 4) proposing more ambitious endeavors.

Community-wide efforts can include a wide array of possibilities. For example, these might include local security considerations, growing and preserving food, educating children, initiating small business enterprises, and troubleshooting technical problems that require creative thinking or specialized skills, such as electrical power, safe drinking water, and waste disposal.

All these possibilities can be placed on the table when we are first getting acquainted. Hearing a range of possible benefits for engaging in mutual assistance can jump-start resistant minds.

However, it is probably best not to try to fix all the ills of the world on the first visit. Unless you already know someone well, the first step will be to get acquainted and to find reasons to spend more time together. A warm, friendly first visit can be the basis for later, more substantive engagement.

Always begin interactions by inviting people to share their feelings and views before you do. This will provide you with a basis for effective engagement, and it will make them more receptive to you. Do not pry or press. But, if you can get another person talking, you will find them far more open to hearing from you.

Once new acquaintances begin to warm to you, invite them to think with you about ways the community can be improved. Invite ideas, and then suggest some of your own. If you find an opening, share your hope.

Try to avoid or downplay the more serious political or emotional issues, if possible, until you have secured a stronger positive connection.

If you meet unreceptive people, don’t push. Be friendly, stay in touch, and make yourself useful. As time passes, watch for ways to demonstrate the practical benefits of a mutually supportive community.

Soon we can begin to introduce people to each other. Small social gatherings can help people get acquainted. While remaining informal, we can introduce ideas by floating questions. What problems or unmet needs do we know of? Who has skills? What skills would be we like to learn? How can we assist one another?

As we come to know one another better, we can begin to discuss our willingness to rise above our differences when needs are great or the stakes are high.

First we are human, then we are neighbors, and, finally, we are Americans who care. As individuals we can be none of these things in isolation.

The future is of immense importance – but reality begins at home.

Tom

Next week: Finding our strengths.

The American Idea

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The integrity of the American Idea is founded upon honesty and the strength of diversity. This nobility is the desire of the world. It will live on – generous, tolerant, and fair – long after foolishness and irresponsibility have been left to the dregs of memory.

–Tom Harriman

The Forward Edge of History

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The unprecedented vision that came into being with the birth of the United States is today impaired by increasingly bitter and antagonistic rhetoric that precludes dialog. If Americans care to participate in a constructive process leading to renewal, we must navigate carefully through the currents of instability.

Violence begets violence in a downward spiral, rhetorical or otherwise. Words can ignite fierce, uncontrollable fires.

When the financial world came unraveled in 2007-08, Americans discovered that startling failures of foresight, responsibility, and common sense involved the very people and institutions we most depended on.

We were stunned by the foolishness that came to light in the very places where we were most vulnerable. Suddenly we recognized a profound disregard for the interests of both citizens and nation – by the same institutions we had previously regarded as models of dependability.

In retrospect, however, we can see that this crisis had long been coming, and that it revealed far more than political and financial irresponsibility.

We have seen the broad social deterioration that comes with unethical behavior and the loss of principled values. Respected national leaders have stained themselves. We have even seen immoral and deeply hurtful actions committed by religious leaders and clergy, the supposed exemplars of integrity.

Where will it stop? In addition to the material damage done to our lives, the rampant failure of responsibility appearing at the core of our society is demoralizing. Indeed, it strikes at the foundations of civilization.

It is easy to get caught up in our feelings at a time like this. It will be necessary to modulate our speech and better manage our emotions if we wish to reaffirm the ultimate purpose of this great nation. Times of peril require that we communicate carefully and avoid contributing to inflamed passions, however offended we may be.

Hurled accusations and inflamed rhetoric make it impossible to hear potentially valid reasoning behind the anger.

The trouble with blame is, first, that it tends to be indiscriminate. It blinds us to the plural identities of those who disagree with us, or who have just made some bad mistakes. We can sometimes fail to see that we share similar values and commitments with those who anger us.

Secondly, blaming will block our ability to respond to looming perils that endanger us all. A fierce storm has come upon us. We need to take responsibility for addressing immediate circumstances.

Make no mistake: A great storm like this will alter everyone’s perspective. So, let’s start with priorities we know to be essential, to ensure the safety and security of our communities. We will build from there.

In so doing we will learn much of what the future will require of us. It is essential that we transcend personal fear, resisting its attendant passions, and learn to work with those around us. Otherwise it will be impossible to respond effectively to the complex challenges of a rapidly changing world.

Some of you have expressed serious doubts that this is possible.

I never said it would be easy; I said we have no choice. If we are unable to confront crises shoulder-to-shoulder as loyal countrymen, freedom will be lost in the chaos of a deepening storm.

It will be helpful if we can see the end in the beginning – the vision of a civil society where respectfulness, fairness, and moral responsibility prevail and freedom of expression is nurtured and defended.

This is a vision and purpose that might just be worth our learning to get along, even for the most doubtful among us. And, it is something we can work on in our own communities.

Patience, composure, steadfast determination, and, most of all, the American generosity of spirit are among the virtues that will be called upon again and again in this day.

We will not escape this great turning point in human affairs. It will inflict tests upon us whether or not we respond with dignity and compassion, whether or not we take our rightful places at the forward edge of history.

Tom

Next week: Where to begin.

A note to new readers: Several chapter drafts for the forthcoming book are posted on this site. See especially Chapter Six: The Ground of Freedom, and Chapter Nine: The Individual in Society.