(Politely) Insist on Civility
By Gary Shapiro
Amid a year of seemingly endless political bluster and bickering, we’ve had several surprising moments of unity this past month. Americans banded together to help disaster relief efforts in Puerto Rico, Florida and Texas, and teamed up in an overwhelming show of support to help victims of the tragedy in Las Vegas.
Even Capitol Hill managed to rise above partisanship to welcome the return of House Majority Whip Steve Scalise following his long recuperation after being shot. In a beautiful and genuine moment, 400 members of Congress came together as one with tears of relief and smiles of joy.
Watching these moments on television brought a sense of rare and bittersweet joy — a bipartisan unity of spirit, the silver lining in a dark cloud of violence and disaster. If only that shared moment could be captured, preserved and reused as a fragrance, diluting the stench of the day-to-day hostility between the Republicans and Democrats.
Our nation is frozen from moving forward, as our politicians attack each other rather than tackle our biggest problems. Our infrastructure is crumbling. Our tax code encourages our best companies to move overseas or be acquired. Our education system ignores skills our employers need, and our immigration system inadequately recognizes foreign-born people who possess those skills. Our health care system is broken and must be fixed. Entitlements are leading us down a path to bankruptcy.
Today, the only real inter-party effort not sanctioned by party leaders is the Congressional Problem Solvers Caucus, a group of some 40 House Republicans and Democrats, which most recently proposed a modest bipartisan fix to the health care laws.
But the general vitriol has gotten so bad that we’re no longer focusing on critical issues. The Democratic “resist” movement has intentionally disrupted Republican town hall meetings, blocking members from talking to their constituents. How bad is it? Recently, an eight-year-old girl was repeatedly booed at a Michigan town hall because she thanked President Trump for working to help veterans.
Meanwhile, Republicans are trying to move major legislation without seeking any compromise or input from the Democrats. While they correctly argue that they are at least allowing Democratic amendments, there is no real discussion or attempt to meet halfway on important bills.
We need to be able to discuss, to listen and even to politely disagree. It is vital for our national future.
Indeed, it is the basis of the unique success of the tech industry and many other American industries reliant on innovation. Our success relies on and benefits from our diversity and ability to disagree, but then listen and act.
The Consumer Technology Association (CTA) champions innovation at every level. Representing more than 2,200 American tech companies, CTA believes innovation is key to our future and to improve the human condition. Of course, we face big issues requiring public discussion: privacy, national and cyber security, skilled immigration, trade and the future of the American workforce.
But while our nation now leads the world in innovation, China is nipping at our heels. While we fight over body posture during the Star Spangled Banner and don’t allow many of our top STEM graduates to stay in this country, China has specific innovation-focused goals and a strategy of encouraging startups. Last week, China Vice Premier Liu Yandong spoke at the Brookings Institution in Washington, DC, and discussed in detail China’s efforts to surpass us in innovation. Yandong said China has 3,500 accelerators for innovation and has a million new STEM graduates annually.
We need to jumpstart across-the-aisle dialogue, starting with the basics: tax reform, infrastructure investment and smart immigration policies that foster the innovation engine driving our economy. The world envies our tech leadership, but it is not our birthright. It is — and must continue to be — our national strategy.
Personally, I will keep urging respectful and polite discussion. Last week, I received an email solicitation from a Democratic political candidate attacking a cabinet secretary’s right to give a speech to students. I replied and said I couldn’t support someone who advocated blocking speech from a top government official. In response, the candidate called me and said in the future he would stick to the issues. We’ll see.
But as most Americans say they’re “angry” with both political parties, perhaps these Americans should start insisting on a change in approach by leaders of both parties. Insist they work together. Insist on bipartisan legislation. Insist on solving our biggest problems.
America’s strength is our diversity, our culture of challenging the status quo, our history as immigrants seeking a better life. These attributes also mean we endlessly debate divisive social issues that other older, more homogeneous countries more easily resolve.
But we need to start talking. We need to listen. We need to disagree respectably. We need to acknowledge we are not supporters of one party or presidential candidate.
We are Americans who all want a better life for our children. If we can listen to each other and collaborate to address the big problems our kids need us to solve, we will have fulfilled our duty both as parents and citizens.
Gary Shapiro is president and CEO of the Consumer Technology Association (CTA)TM, the U.S. trade association representing more than 2,200 consumer technology companies, and author of the New York Times best-selling books, Ninja Innovation: The Ten Killer Strategies of the World’s Most Successful Businesses and The Comeback: How Innovation Will Restore the American Dream. His views are his own. Connect with him on Twitter: @GaryShapiro.
