On this 4th of July I was thinking.
We all know about the legacy and wisdom the American Forefathers left in terms of cultural and political heritage. We look to the words of Jefferson, Madison, Hamilton, Franklin and even writers and philosophers like Thomas Paine for guidance and even comfort about contemporary politics and society. Perhaps we look back in hope that somehow we can return to this brilliant age.
Even astute observers of American democracy like Alexandre de Tocqueville leave a devastating imprint about our impressions about it.
Today, American democracy doesn't remotely resemble, to me anyway, what it once was. Of course, things change. Society evolves. History is written. Life moves into certain directions even the smartest or wisest of men could not foretell.
Democracy as a whole in the West is in a state of flux. The idea of democracy remains powerful indeed; the preferred system of many people. However, the functions that determine it and the culture around it seems to have lost its luster. The political process is way too unresponsive (in both Canada and the United States), politics is now a power game for the elites to manipulate, inequality (an inevitable function of capitalism) is widening (despite unprecedented wealth and personal progress); but to name a few.
Democracy is a kind of paradox. On one hand it delivers all the values and beliefs we strive for and on the other it releases forces that can prevent all the good we aspire to.
All the issues and problems that confront Western civilization could not have been foreseen by the Founding Fathers or even to the great thinkers of the Enlightenment to which many American thinkers trace their intellectual heritage to. Yes, they gave warnings but I can't help but wonder if we're a little too complacent these days.
The question is then, can America return to its roots and reinvigorate its democracy? Is the answer in the Constitution? Or is it too set in its "ways"?
You ask if America can return to its roots and reinvigorate democracy. I think that we need to be careful not to get lost in the grand myth and wonder that surrounds the "founding fathers" when we look at the question.
ReplyDeleteAmerican society was not built on a foundation of "equality for all". Slavery existed and many of the founding fathers owned slaves, you had the continued war upon the Native Americans in favor of western expansion, and women were not treated as equals as well. Society was very much divided at the time of the revolution not only between the many loyalists to Britain and the revolutionists, but also between the poor and the rich. Society was imperfect and not really all that "democratic" to begin with.
Certainly America is one of the greatest experiments in democracy and the framework that was set up has allowed for a society that can amend its laws to create a more "perfect" society, but I think that too often the past is viewed in a light that gives us a slanted view of the actual events and circumstances surrounding said events.
What America has evolved into certainly does not resemble the democracy that was set up at the founding of the country. We have made progress in some areas but have gone backwards in others. The grip of corporate interests on the government is one of the most alarming developments over the years and we must remember that the majority of progress that has been made has often been from pressure outside of the political system. We need a true movement outside of the of the two corporate parties that focuses on putting the power into the people's hands where it belongs.
Chris you bring up a few relevant points in this fine response.
ReplyDeleteOne being the tendency to view things "romantically" which can pull things out of context.
We do this with Native American culture or Africa. We look back to a more pristine time and wished we can go back to a period before Western colonialism. This, of course, is a faulty post modern take on things.
There is no doubt America was an imperfect society but they WERE creating and forging a new country. In this way, their philosophical ruminations and eloquent defense of their beliefs is nothing short of staggering.
Up until that point, no nation on earth dared to bring power to the people and other hall marks found in the Constitution and Bill of Rights.
These men had incredible vision.
For great insights about American society and democracy one should read (and I'm sure you have) Alexandre de Tocqueville - I was preparing a post about him.