The Sign of Strength

A true sign that a democracy is robust and a society is thriving is whether and to what extent dissent is fostered, welcomed and heard. Be aware, however, that I'm not talking about the kind of contrarian hogwash that passes for "dissent" or "bold positions" nowadays. Contrarianism for the sake of it has taken hold (think Rush Limbaugh and Ann Coulter) because there's money to be made from fueling people's hate and fear. That's nothing new. What is new, though, is the extent to which we have forgotten what real debate and real critical thought is in this country.

Honest dissent doesn't resort to making things up to prove a point; distortion of facts isn't necessary; to understand the complexity of the matters about which "reasonable minds can disagree" (a legal phrase), people with reasonable minds must be heard. Reasonable minds are assumed in the saying, "The point of debate is not victory, but progress" (I can never remember who said that, but it's one of my favorite truisms). We've lost touch with our reasonable minds. We are in the age of "the ends justifying the means," and when the ends is only "winning," with no greater or higher purpose, the means will be just as low-brow.

Consider this: just this past week, the co-host of one of America's most popular morning shows implied that only "the far left" in this country are concerned with civil liberties. The "far left?" Really? Okay.

Sadly, I guess I am a member of the "far left" in a country that has skewed so far to the right, even Pat Buchanan seems like a moderate now. But, more importantly, so what? Shouldn't we all drop to our knees and be grateful that someone in this nation is concerned about civil liberties? To illustrate further, I offer this personal example: I may not agree with their tactics, targets and rhetoric, but I certainly understand "the far right's" concern over the deterioration of certain societal values, and the general coarsening of our culture in this country. I may identify the problems differently and, therefore, think of different solutions, but I still understand the concern. If it does take a village to raise a child, then maybe an apt parallel NOW should be "It takes a 'fringe group' to foster a democracy... "

In the last decade and a half, as the Republican party's leaders began to operate in a more lockstep fashion and in accordance with the Rovian plan, they shamefully proved that the politics of personal destruction is one way to win. The first victim, however, was honest discourse (and we should probably discuss whether that was an intended consequence), which has resulted in a great blow to our democracy. Likewise, the failure of our press cannot be underestimated. Whereas before there existed the kind of fact-checking that would inform the public when a politician or leader "got it wrong," now there is only the "he said/she said" that passes for "bringing you both sides of the story." In fact, it is an exercise in contrarianism for the sake of it. Our press has been bullied and we don't seem to care (I have no doubt, however, that when the Democrats resume control, the press will miraculously find its more assertive side - maybe Obama's or Clinton's soft shoe dance style will be just as beguiling as President Bush's, thus rendering the press utterly incapable of asking either of them any hard questions). I won't lie - there have been times over the course of the last few years that I have asked myself, can the book-burnings in the square be far behind?

The kind of dissent that, to me, rings most true is the dissent of a group's own member(s). Yesterday, I was treated - TREATED - to two segments on NPR that let me hear the kind of reasonable dissent this country so badly needs now. First, former Republican representative Mickey Edwards talked about his new book, Reclaiming Conservatism: How a Great American Political Movement Got Lost And How It Can Find Its Way Back, on the Diane Rehm Show. Holy Crow! This is the kind of regular Republican I remember from days gone by! A man with whom I could find little to disagree as far as goals are concerned, but someone with whom I could debate regarding how we should go about achieving our mutual goals. Mutual goals! Criminy! I have forgotten what that was like ...

Then, on Fresh Air, Terry Gross interviewed Jim Webb, Democratic Senator from Virginia, who also discussed his new book, A Time to Fight: Reclaiming a Fair and Just America. Senator Webb explained how, in his opinion, the Democratic party lost its way in the 1970's by, among other things, giving over to special interests and abandoning the issues of working people as a primary focus. The discussion led me to ponder, what is government's purpose? I think that a worthy topic and one that should be revisited often and with vigor.

There they were, their voices coming through my radio - two people assessing their own party's politics and honestly criticizing the failures they see. Without fear of being branded "unpatriotic" or disloyal. That's just how it is supposed to be here; and the fact that hearing these interviews filled me with a sense of nostalgia (!) is some indication of just how far we have strayed from how things are supposed to be. It is appropriate, then, that both books mentioned herein discuss reclaiming something which has been lost.

There's so much more to do.

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