The Wheels of Democracy

It was just past midnight on a sweltering July in Washington. My friends and I had just spent the last few days exploring the nation’s capital, and on our last night we headed out after dark to see the monuments in all their illuminated glory.

We walked for miles in temperatures that hovered in the mid-90’s, even at midnight. Starting near the Washington Monument, we walked around the Tidal Basin to the Jefferson Memorial, then to the FDR Memorial, the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial, the Korean War Veterans Memorial, and over to the Vietnam Memorial. We saved the Lincoln Memorial for last.

Exhausted, we climbed those steps and stood in the glowing lights that cast shadows on a pensive Lincoln looking across the reflecting pool to the Washington Monument and beyond that, to the U. S. Capitol. A place that was buzzing with tourists just a few hours earlier now echoed with our footsteps, and we embraced the solitude and the silence.

It was the summer of American history because once we returned home, I began reading Ron Chernow’s book, Hamilton. At 700+ pages it is a hefty book, but I was fascinated to delve into the question of “Now what?”—the question our Forefathers faced after the Revolutionary War. They had won the battle against England, but now had to wage an entirely different battle of forming a new government, one that reflected the ideals for which they had fought.  

And make no mistake, it was a battle. The Constitution had to be written, each word and phrase argued and considered and voted on. Everything from our justice system to our banking system had to be established. Our Forefathers did all this knowing that every decision, every treatise, every law, and every statute carried the weight of a fledgling democracy and would reverberate through future generations.

And here we are today. Considering the political division marking this present election, it is easy to think this is unique to our times, but our country has been through this before. Often. Take, for example, the election of 1800, which was particularly contentious and caused citizens to gather in public squares to argue and protest. During that time, anyone could publish essays, verbal attacks, or scathing accusations no matter how ridiculous or outrageous. None of it had to be substantiated. Anyone could say Anything about Anybody. And they could do so anonymously. You can imagine the discord, chaos, and vitriol.

Discord, chaos, and vitriol. Sound familiar?

This week my parents came over and, like most conversations lately, the topic turned to politics: the good, but mostly the bad and the ugly. “What’s wrong with people?” my father asked at one point. Then Timothy, who at 16 years old is learning to form opinions, said he had THE ANSWER for what was wrong with the political atmosphere today.

“This. This is what is wrong,” he said, and held up his iPhone.

Welcome to the World of Instant Opinion. Through tweets, blogs, Facebook, or Instagram posts, Anyone can say Anything about Anybody. Opinions and commentaries are hurled into the wind with the touch of a button, and cell phone cameras are brandished as weapons, recording and broadcasting every brawl, traffic stop, argument, or civil unrest. The venue for fostering discord may be a little different than it was in Hamilton’s time, but the results are the same.

Alexander Hamilton once wrote that nothing could be more ill-judged than that intolerant spirit which has, at all times, characterized political parties. Those words, written in 1787, are just as true today. Discouraging? Not really. If anything, this demonstrates that despite all the discord and chaos and vitriol, both yesterday and today, the Wheels of Democracy continue to turn. For over 200 years the system has worked. It is not perfect, but it works. Even when a desired outcome is not achieved, the system works. 

And we need to trust it, for to do otherwise defies the democratic ideals upon which we stand. 

So on the eve of this presidential election, I return to that sweltering July night at the Lincoln Memorial. In the memory of that silence, while the city slept and Lincoln pondered, I stand firm in the eye of this political hurricane and take comfort that, no matter the outcome, it will be okay. Life will go on. We will continue to work, and play, and argue, and love. The sun will continue to rise and set.

And if you listen very carefully, you can hear the Wheels of Democracy turning, turning, turning.

Let us, then, fellow-citizens, unite with one heart and one mind. Let us restore to social intercourse that harmony and affection without which liberty and even life itself are but dreary things.

     ~ Thomas Jefferson, First Inaugural Address, 4 March 1801

the Lincoln Memorial

the Jefferson Memorial