I’ve been thinking recently about what it means to be an American, to have a shared stake in this country and its fortunes. In some ways the question is unanswerable: We are a diverse country, and we each answer the question in our own way.
Yet there are traits in common that resonate across communities and political beliefs. You could start, for instance, with a belief in the promise and ideals of the United States, in its Constitution and laws, and perhaps above all in the independence and opportunity that many Americans consider their birthright.
Yet all along we’ve balanced this quest for liberty with a sense of responsibility. As an American, you accept certain responsibilities: to cast an informed vote; to respect the laws and if you disagree with them to work through the system to change them; to defend the Constitution; and to respect the rights, beliefs, and opinions of others.
This last is not a nice-to-have add-on. It’s baked into our system. The success of American democracy rests on all sorts of values: open-mindedness, civility, competence. But we also possess a restless and impressive desire to make things better – to improve our communities and the lives of the people who live in them. At its heart, the American system – our representative democracy – is about how we resolve our differences in order to move forward.
This means we solve our problems together, by working with all kinds of people, trying to forge common ground and communicate our ideas effectively. In the end, this means that the country depends on a set of common virtues in its citizens – mutual respect, tolerance, humility, honesty, and a willingness to step up to challenges – that underlie our ability to make progress together.
All of this may seem starry-eyed these days. There are plenty of Americans who have no patience for those on the other side. Yet the basic need we confront as Americans has not changed, and that is to use the political system to resolve our challenges.
There are all kinds of fault lines in American politics right now. Resolving them is an ongoing challenge. But being an American means confronting that task, doing our best to find solutions that most Americans can live with – and recognizing that the chance to do all this as ordinary citizens is one of the gifts that being an American bestows on us.
Lee Hamilton is a Senior Advisor for the Indiana University Center on Representative Government; a Distinguished Scholar at the IU Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies; and a Professor of Practice at the IU O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs. He was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives for 34 years.
gary gibson says
Hi Jason
Thanks for the reply and putting my rant up on the web. I wrote I was not “mad as hell” but upon rereading what I wrote, one could take it that way. My excuse is that both letters were a late night effort when I should have been snoozing. My wife, a member of the better angles club, feels most people are doing the best they can. Irregardless, it is good to have a forum where the good, the bad and they ugly can have free expression.
Be well
Gary Gibson
gary gibson says
Hey Jason
This is Gary Gibson. I wrote a comment to this article a few days ago and you refused to publish it. Of course, that is your prerogative, but I feel you at least owe me an explanation as a courtesy.
I tried to substantiate what my objections were to Hamilton’s editorial. I have a university degree in American history.. I have been a life long reader, of academic historians, of articles in periodicals that challenge my views, books by conservatives, socialists, capitalists, marxists – you get the picture. Decades ago I stopped watching cable and network news and talk shows. I try to make up my. own mind as to what makes sense in light of my experience and knowledge. I am not mad as hell and attempt to be serious in regards to what I write.
Perhaps my comment was taken as being too critical or worse, inflammatory. If so, I find it ironic as you seem to favor a provocative approach in your selection of stories and commentary to court readership. I recall a lead, front page story about an elderly, evangelical woman from Mable who went to a Trump rally and came away feeling that God had put him in the white house for a purpose. She knew he was a godly man. Why pander to such nonsense? You regularly publish comments and articles from Cornel Stan who likely is a bit shell shocked but never comes up short patriotically and as an enemy to the perceived red menace or the rabid guy (Jeff?) from Wycoff who adds nothing to any conversation. Or do you feel you know your readership and give’em what they want? You tell me.
I attended an “Over the back fence” broadcast a few years ago where you as a sponsor were entitled to give a speech. You talked about the value of teachers from your experience in an elementary school Compared to the other sponsors, your speech went on and on. The audience was restless, the host sent numerous cues that your time was up before you finally stopped. I had the sense that what you really wanted people to know was what a good person you are. My takeaway is if I were to sit down and have a beer with you and Hamilton, I would down it as fast as I could and get out of Dodge.
What I tried to convey is that Hamilton begs the question. What is important is what kind of citizen in a political collective we are. It matters not if it is America, Canada, or Cuba. Being American is merely a coincidence in our lives, These days it has become an identity like the Hatfields and McCoys. Nationalism and religion have left a bloody and murderous trail through history and if we are to survive as a species, we must reimagine what it is to be human.
Now, if I can use the FCJ solely to start fires in the wood stove, I will sleep much better. How about you – will you continue to try to start fires with it?
Jason Sethre says
Sorry for the delay in approval of your two comments, Mr. Gibson. I just saw both of them today — November 4.
It takes a bit of time to go through the approval/denial process for 436 comments received since October 25 (when your first post was made). We see a flood of comments posted on a daily basis, and getting to them can be a challenge with all of the other stuff we have going on while trying to get the newspaper to press each week.
We don’t allow for comments to post automatically because our website would be fraught with bot posts, profanity and threats between posters.
Thank you for your kind words and your patience. We appreciate that you are so engaged with our publication in print and online.
Sincerely,
Jason Sethre
Publisher
Fillmore County Journal
gary gibson says
Mr. Hamilton begins his homily of what it means to be an American by observing it will be different for each of us depending upon where we are on the spectrum of diversity. From his lofty position as a white, elderly, male of the ruling establishment it is not surprising to hear the same platitudes that all children are familiar with and believe until they reach the age of reason. I summarize, the constitution has near biblical authority, we are all in this together, and differences between folks are merely misunderstandings, citizens vote giving consent to be governed, not only should we tolerate but are asked to respect contrasting and ignorant opinions, and finally, whatever hand you happened to be dealt don’t complain. “Starry-eyed” indeed.
It does not take much memory to recall that the constitution which proclaims “all men are created equal with inalienable rights…..” was written by slave holders (at least 12 Presidents owned slaves). Prosperity and the nation’s identify was forged upon the backs of slaves and the genocide of indigenous peoples. This is our legacy as much as anything written on paper.
Typically, only half of eligible voters cast their consent to be governed. Are the other half not good Americans? Of the half that did vote, nearly half of those voted for a “pussy grabbing” con man who told them the system was rigged and only he could bring back the jobs, restore the dignity in their lives, and make the country great again. Ya, he “loved his uneducated voters” but why did this message resonate with them? Are they insane or just crazy and desperate enough to go with something wild?
The two political parties play a shell game of “we are not them” and it works. The media uses the identical con to attract audience size and ad revenue. And it works. The parties control the entire electoral process and be assured, they could not care less what you and I want.
The reality of our political system is that it is pay to play. Since 1970 real wages have fallen while inequality has skyrocketed to record highs. It is a text book plutocracy coup and the rich along with corporations have gotten their monies worth as both Democrats and Republicans have passed tax cuts often on the backs of the lower and middle classes. The only thing the Afghanistan war to accomplish was to transfer nearly 3 trillion dollars from the tax payer base to a war munitions industry and its shareholders. A laundering scam that took 20 years to complete. Unions have been gutted.,likewise, social safety nets. Single payer health care is a pie in the sky, not because of its cost or inefficiency but corporations fear loss of control over workers as they wish to be the sole place where workers can get affordable health insurance (note early in the strike of John Deere workers they were threatened with loss of insurance) Do the research, follow the money from pac committees and lobbyists to congress and its legislation. It is all legal, but call me old fashioned, as it seems corrupt to me.
For me, a good citizen is a knowledgeable and skeptical individual with independent critical thinking skills. Ideals and dreams are only a path, an inspiration., I admit I am a half empty glass guy and old too boot. I want to witness the goods and things look bleak from here. As George Carlin ruefully observed, “to believe in the American dream, you have to be asleep.”