We the People
The Democratic National Convention begins next week, and I’m glad that it’s taking place virtually. While the coronavirus renders this format necessary, traditional conventions have also become outmoded. Throngs of impassioned delegates filled with adulation for one man feels out of sync with the democracy we profess to cherish.
Though Donald Trump’s political rallies epitomize this idolatry, so do Democratic ones. I’ll never forget the thrill of seeing Barack Obama at a huge rally in Greensboro, North Carolina, in September 2008. The excitement and energy of the crowd electrified the event in a way that I’d never experienced. It was great. And yet I wonder . . .
Every four years, it seems, we cast about for that one candidate — usually male, usually white — who will singlehandedly save us. In fact, George Washington’s inaugural journey from Mount Vernon to New York in 1789, as described by Ron Chernow in his book Washington: A Life, began this American tradition. Despite the new president’s wish to keep celebrations simple, “Before long,” Chernow writes, “it was apparent that Washington’s journey would form the republican equivalent of the procession to a royal coronation.”
A royal coronation indeed. It’s not what our Constitution prescribes, but it’s what our conventions and inaugurations have become.
Moreover, we hold unrealistic expectations for the presidents we’ve elevated. Washington captures this sentiment in words written over 230 years ago: “I greatly apprehend that my countrymen will expect too much from me.” He’s right. Those of us who revered Barack Obama expected societal change that never materialized. Those who worship Donald Trump don’t live in an America made great again.
We’ve lost the “We” in “We the People,” though it seems we never had it in the first place. But it’s the goal, it’s the idea. It’s all of us participating in democracy. It’s getting rid of the Electoral College. It’s getting money out of government. It’s overturning Citizens United. It’s eliminating voter suppression. It’s rethinking presidential power.
It’s Make the United States Better for All.
