Professor Schaff blogs incitefully below about the contemporary decline of political rhetoric, and the deviseness that causes it. Michael Barone has a rather cheery interpretation of the same phenomenon in Real Clear Politics, one with which I agree. He begins by acknowledging that contemporary politics looks pretty ugly.
It is not a pretty season in our politics. Both our major parties seem to be busy disqualifying themselves. The Republicans are desperately trying to avoid getting caught up in the scandal of the disgraced and disgustingly greedy lobbyist Jack Abramoff (his clients contributed to Democrats as well as Republicans, they are quick to assert). The Democrats are fortifying their reputation for being unwilling to defend their country from its violent enemies, by attacking George W. Bush for ordering National Security Agency electronic surveillance of calls from al-Qaida suspects and by filibustering reauthorization of the Patriot Act.
But he refers us to Judge Richard Posner's book Law, Pragmatism and Democracy, which treats the subject with some perspective.
"American democracy," writes Posner, "enables the adult population, at very little cost in time, money or distraction from private pursuits commercial or otherwise, to punish at least the flagrant mistakes and misfeasances of officialdom, to assure an orderly succession of at least minimally competent officials, to generate feedback to the officials concerning the consequences of their policies, to prevent officials from (or punish them for) entirely ignoring the interests of the governed, and to prevent serious misalignments between government action and public opinion."
All of which is a little too astringent to me. I prefer the uplift of Jefferson and Lincoln, the Roosevelts and Ronald Reagan (who appointed Posner to the bench). I note that voter turnout rose 16 percent from 2000 to 2004 and Bush's popular vote rose 23 percent: Our polarized politics has increased participation, though not in the way most of the academy and mainstream media would prefer.
Well, there you have it. If you want to increase voter turnout, ratchet up the passion on both sides. File that one under 'be careful what you wish for.' And then read Barone's last paragraph. Its about as good as everyday political rhetoric gets. It rises to the level of political philosophy.
A city on a hill is, after all, a city -- and cities are messy places. As are suburbs and farmlands. Americans are busy striving and risking their lives and making the world better, as they have for 60-plus years. There have been few if any pretty seasons in our politics over those years: Go back, and try to find them. Yet the result, pace Posner, is better than what Rome achieved. We'll get through this season, too.
Recent Comments