A "Civil" Government

I constantly find myself trying to take De Tocqueville's book with a grain of salt, try to read it in the context of the period in which it was written, but I cannot.  I immediately apply to the current day, and find De Tocqueville sorely mistaken.  In his section describing the associations in Europe and America, I feel as if he's wishing the governments of Europe would follow the civil discourse of America.  If only he could see it now.

It's unfortunate our political landscape has changed into a battlefield.  Now more than ever it seems the prominent parties are constantly in a war of attrition. Though, due to what I perceive to be the fickle nature of the voting nature of the American public, momentum does shift every two-four years or so.

De Tocqueville also describes the individuality of politics, the ability to make decisions on your own.  If only that were true.  One can turn on the news and see the votes on legislation and see votes on party lines. That's typical.  One can look at the elections and see that independent, moderate voices either are shut out in the primaries or go on to defeat in the general election.  American politics have become polarized to a point De Tocqueville would probably resort to the fetal position.

De Tocqueville and Wisconsin

While I was reading the assigned chapter, my thoughts kept on connecting what I was reading to the situation in Madison.  Would the protests agree with De Tocqueville's vision of democracy in the United States, or, instead, would he view Governor Scott Walker's budget bill as the antithesis to democracy?

Some call the actions of Walker tyrannical, dictatorial even.  I seem them as misguided and arrogant.  I do not see Walker as our Midwestern Mubarak, and nor do I see Madison as our Cairo.  Such comparisons are hyperbole to the nth degree.  Despite all this, that does not mean that what is going in my great home state isn't dead wrong.

In theory, Walker has done everything De Tocqueville has laid out in his rights as governor.  One aspect does make me uneasy, however, and it is as follows "When the authority, due by general consent to the laws, is disregarded, the governor marches out at the head of the physical power of the state; he breaks down resistance and reestablishes accustomed order."

It's hard to say what De Tocqueville would think about this situation.  We all have our opinions and interpretations of his work and we will apply it in our own way to the protests happening in Wisconsin.

Equality: Fated

"Therefore, the gradual progress of equality is something fated." -De Tocqueville, Democracy in America


When I was poring over Democracy in America, the section that this sentence began was the only one I couldn't help but read over and over again.  There was so much hope, so much optimism in it that it made me believe, hardly a fraction into the book, that De Tocqueville had captured the spirit of America in one of the truest ways I have ever read.

There is so much truth in that statement, especially for our country.  Despite what people may say, that true equality is not achievable, that is beyond the powers of average men and women, De Tocqueville states powerfully and eloquently that the common people are constantly fighting for it, that each step we take is a step closer to universal equality.

Some naysayers may also state that De Tocqueville was merely talking about equality in terms of political power, and I would have to agree that the crux of his argument focuses on that.  However, democracy, in my opinion, is a demonstration of equality in every facet of life, not just government (though, some may argue that the size of government these days means that it already is involved in every facet of our lives, which, on the whole, I would agree with), thought it seems that in order for equality to truly government needs to legitimize it.  And, though democracy should already be promoting equality amongst its people, it seems equality comes when a vocal majority of the citizenry stand up and demand it.  In my opinion, a true democracy would be granting equality for the minority, whether the majority are for it or not.

There's much on the subject of equality and the role of government I find noteworthy, and I'm afraid this posting has become a jumble of my ideas in a not very coherent order.  If I could boil my general point into a concise sentence (which I should be capable of, right?) it would be this:

Democracy, in its truest form, is the strongest supporter, protector, and advancer of equality for each and every citizen, though our American democracy does not act as such until a majority of the citizens decide that the time is ripe for an advancement towards true equality.

I started out this blog post as almost a love letter to America and its history with equality; I feel as though I've lost the endearment and have settled into a haze of frustration and disappointment.  I'm eager to see if De Tocqueville experiences something similar.

"And this, too, shall pass away."

Lincoln used this at a speech in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, celebrating the progress of the 19th century and urging a committed focus on extending it to the future.  He hoped that this progress was just beginning; that the triumphs of the 19th century would continue and that this successful period and the accessibility of the Dream of Upward Mobility would become available to all "Americans".  He did not think that this would end, but Cullen, on the other hand, believes it has.

I disagree with Cullen.  The Dream of Upward Mobility has not been an easy thing for some to achieve, but that does not mean it's impossible to reach.  Just in Lincoln's lifetime the Dream of Upward Mobility began to extend from only white males to African-Americans and women (though this was a very slow process).

If we look at colleges today, I'll choose St. Olaf at random, I'm sure there are more than one or two students here who are the first of their families to attend college.  On a larger scale, I bet if you asked Mr. Cullen whether or not he thought an African-American man could be president when he was writing his book, he probably would have said no.

I can be just as cynical as the best of them (Cullen included) but when it comes to the Dream of Upward Mobility, I can be as optimistic and idealistic as Lincoln himself.  It is so intrinsic to the "American" Dream that to say it is dead is to say that what this country was built on, the ideas, values, and beliefs have also perished with time.

As long as "America" is a country, the Dream of Upward Mobility shall never pass away.

The "Common" Man

The "common" man.  Every populist movement in history seems to be driven by this "common" man.  He's clearly been very busy.  I personally am not 100% sure who this "common" man is.  Is it based on one's income?  Racial background?  Sexual orientation?  Political affiliation?  There are so many criteria that need to be met- yet it seems lots of people fit the bill.

For me, personally, the "common" man is white, relatively well-off, well-educated (debatably), and has an acute desire to retaliate whenever they feel threatened.  As DeAne said in class on Wednesday, "The perception of threat is as powerful as real loss."  The "common" man is a perfect example of that, especially with the modern day Tea Party.

The Tea Party movement was born from threat of over-reaching government.  Many found truth in the movement and it gained strength, becoming a force to be reckoned with in our politics.  The "common" man seeks a reduction of big government, which he believes eventually could reach the size where it restricts moral freedom and liberty.

I don't buy it.  I don't even buy the concept of the "common" man in our society.  We're so diversified, so unique, that common cannot be used to describe our society.  Some would say I fit the description of the "common" man but I definitely do not feel like the Tea Party shares my views.

"Common" man I am not.

The Christianization of America

The Second Great Awakening instilled the concept of Christianity and its ideals into mainstream "American" public.  Church attendance sky-rocketed, allowing priests and pastors to spread their views and ideals to a much larger audience.  Religion, exclusively Christianity, began to seep into all facets of "American" life.  Religion and church-going became a social staple for those yearning to be atop the social hierarchy.

Unfortunately, with the Christianization of the public came the Christianization of the government.  Despite our great strengths with the separation of church and state, religion still managed to become a large part of politics, and remains one today. With such factions as todays religious right, which has a draconic influence on "American" politics, especially in regards to the Republican party of which the religious right is part of the base, our politics is not what the founding fathers dreamed of while conceiving our nation.

I don't see any need for religion in our politics, or in mainstream society.  I ascribe to my own beliefs and I typically do not share them publicly.  Our society is not a welcoming environment to other religions, no matter how much we wish to convince ourselves otherwise.  Christianity is obviously the dominant religion, and there isn't room for others.
 

Rapturous

I am not an evangelical.  Frankly, I find the group intimidating.  However, I can agree with them on one thing: The Left Behind Series is really really good.  I discovered it my junior year of high school when my aunt bought the entire series at a garage sale and they slowly made their way through my family.  My mother received them by mistake; she had tried, and failed, to read them previously and had no desire to try again.  She claimed she had been frightened, which was legitimate.  The chaos and catastrophe that occurs in the series is what the Bible claims will happen at some point before Jesus' Second Coming.

At the time, I was finishing up Confirmation classes in the Catholic Church, and had spent many Wednesday evenings poring over the Bible.  I decided to pick the first one up and give it a try, and to my surprise, I was hooked.  I sped through the series quickly, but because I saw them as fiction as opposed to a scary prophecy that was sure to come true.

The Second Great Awakening was a religious revival in America fueled by the proselytizing of oratorically   skilled pastors.  I feel if these books were available back then, fear would have played a major role in the conversion process.  Who would want to be Left Behind and suffer the plagues, the Antichrist, and the virtual Hell that the Earth turns into, when what is necessary to avoid it all is follow God, Jesus and His teachings from the start?  It would have been an excellent tool in convincing men and women to follow Christ.

I can't say I felt a sudden desire to amp up my Christianity in preparation for the Rapture.  I found the books to be extremely entertaining and held my attention. . .well, rapturously.  

Guilty for copping out of a blog post post

My conscience got the better of me- here's a post that's honest to blog.

Each year, the conservatives of America gather at the Conservative Political Action Committee conference in D.C. to sing love songs to low taxes, limited government, restricting abortion and prohibiting gay rights. As conservatives, they identify with the Republican party, which has failed them this year when it comes to upholding socially conservative values.  This year, a gay Republican group known as GOProud is a sponsor of the event.  Far-right groups were not very happy.

The Heritage Foundation, Concerned Women for America, The Family Research Council and the National Organization for America, as well as other far-right groups pulled out almost immediately following the announcement of GOProud's involvement.  Political conservatives such as Senator Jim DeMint of South Carolina refused to attend as well.

There will come a time where equality will be universal and those who stood against it will be on the wrong side of history.  I can't wait for that time to come.

Democracy/Copping out of doing a blog post.

“Democracy means simply the bludgeoning of the people by the people for the people.” -Oscar Wilde.  A quote that, in many respects, paints a highly accurate picture of government of the United States, especially in its current form.  Harkening back to the days of the Athenians, democracy has changed the way that is implemented over the years but has not lost the ideals.  These ideals acknowledge the rights of people, the inherent God given rights that everyone person has and which no government can take away or manipulate.  A democracy is a government in which the ruled are essentially the rulers.  Far from perfection, but, in the view of the majority of the world, the only viable form of government.  Democracy is an intrinsic American value.  Some would go as far to say democracy is American (they would be wrong, of course).  Though Americans may be democracies biggest cheerleaders amongst the citizens of the world, the concept does not belong to them alone.  

The most obvious form of democracy in America occurs whenever voting takes place.  People go to the polls and vote for the person they think will best represent their views in some facet of the government whether it be local, state, or federal.  However, elections are winner-take-all, and invariably some person’s rights to have their preferred candidate will represent them will be taken away.  As stated by Thomas Jefferson “ A democracy is nothing more than mob rule, where fifty-one percent of the people may take away the rights of the other forty-nine.” This is how democracy works.  There are no doubt flaws, but every system has them.  It is then the responsibility of the representative to remember not only those who elected him or her to office, but also those who did not, for these people are still his or her constituents and need to be heard.  Unfortunately, America has changed democracy from representing the people to representing a party, but that is a discussion for another time.

Democracy is as it’s ugliest when mob rule occurs.  There are those who believe that the majority is always in the right; this is not the truth.  Mob rules is a sever flaw of democracy, because in true democracies a majority is all that counts.  The American government is crafted in a way where majorities hold all the power.  Minorities are virtually powerless.  Another unfortunate aspect of true democracy is the power granted to the people.  Winston Churchill once stated “The best argument against democracy is a five minute conversation with the average voter.”  Harsh, but, in many cases, true.  The sheer lack of knowledge held by some voters is astonishing, and to imagine the power they have can be intimidating.  It has become popular these days to ask for a leader like the common man.  I could not disagree more.  I want someone to represent me in office who is more intelligent, more ethical, and just all around better than I am.  I want someone who can make decisions even when the majority is against him or her because he or she knows an alternative is the best solution.  Democracy can be ugly (it usually is) but there are silver linings.

This form of government acknowledges the rights of human beings better than any other.  It not only acknowledges these rights, but protects, upholds, and cultivates them.  Democracy does not allow power to be consolidated to a few but rather all who are governed.  It keeps our representatives honest (at least to some extent), as they have to answer to us when their seat is up in an election cycle.  Our government is that of a democratic republic, where our representatives are democratically elected to their positions, in that we, the people, cast votes in order to elect them.  The ability to vote is the best aspect of democracy.

Democracy is showcased every day in America.  It comes in the simple form of sharing an opinion that might contradict the government.  It could be a letter to one’s representative urging them to vote according to one’s view on a piece of legislation.  It is the accessibility to our government that is overlooked every day.  Our representatives that we elected are shaping the path the government is going down and putting our views and desires into action.    

America has been a showcase for democracy since the country’s creation.  It has been democracy’s champion, as its citizens are passionate about the concept and the ideals that are idolized through the practice.  Democracy has its flaws, but it is the only viable government that recognize the rights and liberty that all people possess.

We: The Average "American"

Sometimes, I don't like being referred to as an average "American".  The average "American" cannot name many (if any) of the Supreme Court Justices.  The average "American" doesn't know what the Electoral College does, nor does the average "American" know the Speaker of the House.  I don't particularly like being grouped in with them.

Surprisingly, the civic literacy of college students isn't much better.  You would think that with the average "American" now having a college degree (or getting there, at least) that civic literacy would be higher.  Nope.

In my opinion, the average "American" isn't too interested in how government works.  He or she is more concerned with the voting, which is an extremely important civic duty.  However, perhaps the votes would count more if one was aware of the process through which government governs, and the actions it executes while in power.

 If you think you're a bit more literate than the average "American" when it comes to civics, check out this Civic Literacy Quiz and prove it!  You might be surprised at how much (or little) you know.