Grading Our Democracy

The other night at the New Orleans Cafe in Pioneer Square, my friend Jerry Carlson asked me -- out of the blue -- "what grade would you give our democracy?" Non-plussed and stalling for time, I protested that we shouldn't and couldn't talk over the wonderful music of Clarence Acox's Legacy Quartet. But the question fermented, and the more I've thought, the more disillusioned I've become, having started out at a C+ and steadily worked down to a solid D. I'd have given us a C+ in 1960, a B- in 1950, a B+ in 1935, an A- on August 18th, 1920.

First, what would constitute an “A” democracy?

• A balance between individual citizens and institutions – unions, corporations, churches, universities, hospitals, and professional organizations;


• legislators (local, state and federal) who represent their constituents --all their constituents -- not just those who voted for them and not just donors to their campaigns;


• legislators who balance civic good with partisan interests;


• equality of responsibility and accountability between legislative, executive and judicial branches of government;


• an elastic constitution that establishes a respected rule of law and an even playing field for all;


• external policies that do not seek to impose its norms and beliefs on others;


• and citizens that are educated and energized to seek civic as well as personal well-being.

So how are we doing?

• Our youngest generation of voters are less well educated than their elders, and the generation to come even more poorly so.


• We have become more interested in “me” than in “us”, a result of cultural and economic pressures.


• Through states of constant crisis (depression, WWII, cold war, Korea, Viet Nam, civil rights turmoil, Latin American instabilities, oil crises, Iranian hostage taking, runaway inflation, Desert Storm, 9/11, the bogus "war on terror", Afghanistan, Iraq, and Afghanistan again) power and policy initiatives have become centralized in the executive branch. Madison said (1795) “No nation can preserve its freedom in the midst of continual warfare."


• Congress has abdicated its responsibility and sunk into ideological bickering.


• The courts have strengthened the power of institutions vis-à-vis individuals.


• Legislators, especially in Congress, more often than not put donors ahead of constituents, and more often than not those donors are neither voters nor residents in the representative’s district or state.


• Our constitution has not yet dealt with concentrations of wealth and power in institutions; corporations, in particular, were not a factor in the thinking of our founders.

I hadn't realized that I saw through such negative prisms. But I am not pessimistic. We muddle through. The American dream still unifies us. We will awaken to these realities, agree they are unacceptable, and determine to reform, reallocate our resources, and earn higher grades once again. I only hope to see it and play my small part in what time I have left.