Can education help save American democracy?
Democracy is never a final achievement. It is a call to effort …
—John F. Kennedy (1963)
Is American democracy in danger? The current situation in Washington certainly raises questions and eyebrows; whether or not you are happy with what is going on, we can agree that it is not business as usual.
I think everyone would agree that our country is becoming more and more polarized. Our president is carefully carving out an “us-them” psychology; nothing captures this sentiment more vividly than the push to build a border wall. Trump is an expert at stoking fear, and it is fear that divides us. The best cure for the fear of others is to meet someone of that “feared” group and look them in the eye. You just see another human being, in all their fullness. It is ignorance that makes us fearful.
History shows that democratic norms are vulnerable to polarization, observe Harvard University professors Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt. I don’t think anyone looks forward to the prospect of a divided, feuding country – with the possible exceptions of our president and Putin. What has gotten us so far off-track? Levitsky and Ziblatt point to the need for strong informal norms for democratic institutions to function well. They discuss two in particular, neither of which are currently upheld.
The first is “legitimate opposition”: rivals across the Congressional aisle must fully accept the other’s right to exist, compete and govern. “Without such mutual acceptance, democracy is imperiled.” Read any of Trump’s tweets to find examples of how he mocks and denigrates anyone who doesn’t agree with him, starting with “crooked Hillary.”
The second norm Levitsky and Ziblatt discuss is “forbearance, or self-restraint in the exercise of power.” Put in the simplest terms, it means you don’t do something just because you can. This happens when you operate from a set of values, and there are rights and wrongs. Historically we have depended on our presidents to model this, but unfortunately our current president models something more along the lines of “do whatever you can to your own advantage, and everybody else be damned.”
What can we do to save and strengthen our democracy? Certainly one of the most fundamental ways is through education. Teachers, the Supreme Court Justice Felix Frankfurter wrote, should be regarded as “the priests of our democracy.” I think of two areas in particular. The first is critical thinking skills.
We live in an ever-more-complicated world, with information coming at us in deluges 24/7. We need citizens who have the skills to sort through all the noise and lies and misinformation. They will be less likely to be swayed by the rhetoric and propaganda thrown at them, and can evaluate issues on their own merit.
The second area of education that needs to be more robust is civics. I was happy to see that our state recently passed a new law requiring a higher standard for the civics requirement. But in addition to reading about how our government works, I encourage some hands-on experience. A democracy is a living, breathing entity which lives through its participating citizens. For example, high school students could have required internships at the Capitol.
The fullest sense I have had of being a citizen of a democracy has been through direct experience. Standing in line to vote on election night, I felt part of something meaningful. (I miss the camaraderie, lost when voting by mail.) Working for a state agency and doing rule-making was a huge eye-opener. And it was a profound learning experience to work with a small neighborhood group to squash the development of a six-story apartment building proposed to be built over my back fence. I have come to fully appreciate that being a citizen is a challenging and time-consuming job, and a rewarding one. But without mutual tolerance and forbearance, it is a system that will struggle to continue and meet its stated objectives for all its citizens.
Living in a democracy with extensive personal freedom is a great opportunity and a great responsibility. Move beyond fear and become a part of your own destiny. America is waiting.
Lynne Geller is a journalist and educator who is finishing up her term on The Olympian Board of Contributors. She can be reached via email at lynneboc2018@gmail.com