Broken Washington: It’s Not You, It’s Me
By Lieutenant Governor Spencer J. Cox
“Washington is broken.” It’s a common refrain and, frankly, an easy target. With debt spiraling out of control, a
disastrous Republican-led government shutdown, and the discouraging rollout of the Democrats’ signature healthcare law—DC deserves the criticism.
“W
ashington is broken.” It’s a common refrain and, frankly, an easy
target. With debt spiraling out of control, a disastrous Republican-led government shutdown, the discouraging rollout of the Democrats’
signature healthcare law, DC deserves the criticism.
At the heart of this dysfunction is a deeply divided Congress. And while
we have seen radical polarization before, this time something seems different. Consider this shocking chart (Cillizza, 2013):
And what about the Senate? Hyper-partisanship abounds there too. A
recent study performed by researchers from Duke and UNC concluded
that, “We have not seen the current level of partisanship since the early
1900s” (U.S. Political Polarization, 2013).
Experts from Harvard and Princeton have recently posited and proven
that groups of people with diverse backgrounds can find the most efficient
solutions to complex problems faster than like-minded groups (Mele, 2013).
At a time when the business world is beginning to understand and unlock
the power of human thought networks, collaboration and disparate ideas,
our elected officials are becoming more isolated and polarized than ever.
There have been many attempts to explain this behavior. Gerrymandered
districts (Gerard, 2013), the rise of outrage as media (Berry & Sobieraj,
2014), and the “radical connectivity” of “news” sources that allow voters to
reinforce their world view without ever listening to an opposing idea (Mele,
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2013) are clearly contributing to the problem. I believe, however, that there
is something deeper and more dangerous at play. I believe the answer lies
in a much simpler attribute—or, more correctly, the loss of an attribute:
humility.
From town halls to the halls of Congress, we increasingly see and hear
a shrill rightness. Instead of a religious people involved in politics, politics
is becoming a religion. Once this transition takes place, anyone that opposes
us is not only wrong, but evil. This leads to a place where collaboration and
compromise are called collusion, and principle is more important than
people. We become a nation where being opinionated is confused with
being informed. Ultimately, we are surrounded by self-proclaimed Constitutional scholars who have no understanding of the concepts of collaboration and compromise embedded in that document.
Having thus painted ourselves into corners with vociferous pronouncements of absolutes, full of the accompanying hubris and dogma, we can
never change our hearts or minds. Even worse, we cynically brand and
crucify politicians who do so with the scarlet letter “F”: flip-flopper. In so
doing, we lose sight of the humility suggested by the venerable Judge Learned
Hand who, quoting Sir Oliver Cromwell, said, “‘I beseech ye in the bowels
of Christ, think ye may be mistaken.’ I should like to have that written over
the portals of every church, every school, and every court house, and, may
I say, of every legislative body in the United States” (Learned Hand Testimony, 1951).
This begs the question, what can we do? Unfortunately, it has been
said—and I agree—that as a people we get the governance we deserve. As
such, it stands to reason that we must start by looking into our own hearts
and change our own lives. We can begin by choosing to forego “outrage
media.” The next time our favorite commentator is calling someone names
or our cable news network features two talking (screaming) heads, simply
change the channel.
Next, we need to learn to listen to those with whom we disagree. A few
weeks ago I had an incredible opportunity to meet with 24 young political
leaders from across the country: 12 Republicans and 12 Democrats. As we
discussed leadership principles and the history of democratic thought, we
were given a challenge to check our partisanship at the door and actually
listen in a different way. We were asked to listen to truly understand—not
to simply prepare a response. It seems simple, but the experience was actually uncomfortable and a little jarring at first. It was at that moment I understood an additional piece of wisdom by Judge Learned Hand, “The spirit
The Hinckley Journal of Politics of liberty is the spirit which is not too sure that it is right; the spirit of liberty
is the spirit which seeks to understand the minds of other men and women”
(Learned Hand Testimony, 1944).
Finally, if we are ever to change the course of division and dysfunction
in DC, we must elect men and women that will stop bloodying and bullying
each other on the pulpit of principle and start treating one another with
courtesy and respect. Senator Alan Simpson put it bluntly: “If you are a
legislator and you can’t learn to compromise an issue without compromising yourself, get out of the business. In fact, don’t ever get married, either.
You don’t want any part of that” (Baraback, 2013).
If we are to fix Washington and turn the tide of partisan divide, we must
expect more of our elected officials. We must also expect more of ourselves.
“With malice toward none; with charity for all” (Lincoln, 1865). We must
remember that “[w]e are not enemies, but friends…. Though passion may
have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection” (Lincoln, 1861).
Only then can we, in the words of the great philosopher, Vanilla Ice (1990),
who said it best: “Stop, collaborate, and listen.”
2014
Vanilla Ice (Performer). (1990, July 2). Ice Ice Baby [Audio file]. Retrieved from
http://www.lyrics007.com/Vanilla%20Ice%20Lyrics/Ice%20Ice%20Baby%20
Lyrics.html
REFERENCES
Baraback, M. Z. (2013, March 28). ‘Stupid’: Alan Simpson gores GOP on
immigration, Obama on budget. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved from http://
articles.latimes.com/2013/mar/28/news/la-pn-alan-simpson-gores-gop-onimmigration-obama-on-budget-20130327
Berry, J. M., & Sobieraj, S. (2014, January 3). Are Americans addicted to outrage?
Politico. Retrieved from http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2014/01/
angry-politics-americans-addicted-101735_Page3.html#.UyoDvM51pQX
Cillizza, C. (2013, October 28). The death of the political middle, in 1 PowerPoint
slide [Blog post]. Retrieved from The Washington Post: The Fix website:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2013/10/28/the-death-ofthe-political-middle-in-1-powerpoint-slide/
Gerard, A. (2013). Gerrymandering partisanship: Manipulating the structure of
American democracy. The Politic: The Yale Undergraduate Journal of Politics.
Retrieved from http://thepolitic.org/gerrymandering-partisanship/
Learned Hand. (1944). “The Spirit of Liberty” (speech), New York, 21 May; see The
Yale Book of Quotations, 336; quoted in Antonin Scalia, “The Millennium
That Was: How Democracy Swept the World,” Wall Street Journal, 7
September 1999, A24.
Learned Hand. (1951). Testimony before Senate committee, 28 June, (quoting
Oliver Cromwell, letter to General Assembly of the Kirk of Scotland, 3
August 1650); see The Yale Book of Quotations, ed. Fred R. Shapiro (New
Haven: Yale University Press, 2006), 336 (also 179); see also “Learned Hand,
1872–1961,” Yale Law Journal 71, no. 1 (November 1961).
Lincoln, A. (1861, March 4). First inaugural address of Abraham Lincoln. Avalon
Project. Yale Law School Lillian Goldman Law Library, New Haven, CT.
Retrieved from http://avalon.law.yale.edu/19th_century/lincoln1.asp
Lincoln, A. (1865, March 4). Second inaugural address of Abraham Lincoln. The
Avalon Project. Yale Law School Lillian Goldman Law Library, New Haven,
CT. Retrieved from http://avalon.law.yale.edu/19th_century/lincoln1.asp
Mele, N. (2013). The end of big: How the Internet makes David the new Goliath.
New York City, NY: St. Martin’s Press.
U.S. political polarization charted in new study [Fact sheet]. (2013, May 20).
Retrieved March 19, 2014, from Duke Today website: http://today.duke.
edu/2013/05/us-political-polarization-charted-new-study#video
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