Coalition For Civil Discourse

Today a great family lays to rest an American hero after a week of celebration and remembrance of a man who defined what it means to be a civil servant, Senator John McCain. I do not know in great detail the sufferings of his time as a prisoner, his time in the congress and senate, or his triumphs of bipartisanship Vice President Biden and Senator Lieberman shared this week.
What I do know is that as a ten year old I had an excellent teacher who provided our class with Time For Kids, that teacher would have us discuss and debate the opinions we formed from our readings. I remember an issue where I got the chance to learn about John McCain, the candidate for the Republican nominee to be President of the United States. To be frank I have no remembrance as to what drew me to him, but I do remember adamantly attempting to get my parents to vote for him in the primary. Maybe it was a reference of being a “maverick”. I believe that would have appealed to my fourth grade self. Although I identify as a Democrat today, John McCain was the first person I desired to represent us in this great republic.
Fast forward seventeen years, and my wife and I now live in Arizona. I was finally lucky enough to have John McCain representing me. Although I never voted for him, (and could have in 2008) I felt comforted knowing that a person of his character was representing me. After his famous no vote to repeal the Affordable Care Act, I knew Republican voters would be upset. But I was completely awestruck by the number of personal and outrageous attacks against him as a person for this vote. Scrolling through social media I was stunned to see the number of Arizonans who I assumed relished in his independent streak speak of him in such horrible ways.
I think it is clear by now that his intent of that vote was to show that we can not simply shoehorn solutions through our legislative process. That politics is not a sport the opposing party are not “the bad guys”. That if we want to truly solve problems and live up to the ideals laid down by our forefathers we must work together. John McCain showed us all how to be a great citizen. In times such as these, it is up to us to heed the calling and learn from his example and be great citizens ourselves.
It is easy in times such as these to be cynical, to assume all is lost and corrupt. It is easy to be distracted by our modern conveniences and ignore our responsibilities as citizens. To look down on those responsibilities as a burden. It is easy to assume this world, this country, the town you live in, the very roads you drive, all exist for you and you alone. Comforted by our conveniences and bubbles of like mindedness we have managed to build political parties that have developed litmus tests of like mindedness that cause this very cynicism and congress’s inability to act. It is just as much our fault as citizens for continuing to elect individuals (on both sides) who only operate only in extremes, as it is congress’s for our current political climate.
In a time where individuals will seemingly do anything to be “Instagram famous”, or impatiently wait for the likes to pour in for their latest seemingly perfect family picture. We desperately find ourselves seeking purpose via these hollow means, while we blindly ignore the purpose we were blessed to be born into. This purpose is beauty of our nation, We the people, have the radical power to shape the governing body of our nation. Everyone from the custodian, to the CEO share the same purpose and responsibility to ourselves, and this nation to elect representatives to govern our great nation.If this feels cheesy or like empty rhetoric, then in the words of Buddy Wakefield,
“If you’ve never been rocked back by the presence of purpose This poem is too soon for you Return to your mediocrity Plug it into an amplifier And rethink yourself”
John McCain provided an example as to how we can live by this purpose. As many have stated this week, he knew that there was more to a person than their opinion. That all of these opinions come from our attempt to build a more perfect union. That no matter how strongly we felt about something, the idea and principles of this nation are greater than our personal agendas. As President Obama stated in his eulogy,
“That’s perhaps how we honor him best, by recognizing that there are some things bigger than party or ambition or money or fame or power, that the things that are worth risking everything for, principles that are eternal, truths that are abiding. At his best, John showed us what that means”
We can start by ending the rhetoric, fuck the blue wave, fuck the red wave, we are not abolishing the IRS, and we are not abolishing ICE. It is time to work together. We have to stop viewing our governing tools as ideology, but as what they are, tools. Maybe… sometimes it makes sense to raise taxes. Maybe… sometimes it makes sense to lower taxes. Maybe… sometimes we need social programs to help individuals pick themselves up. Maybe… sometimes those programs fail and we need to try something else. I may be naive, but I have to believe that legislative success does not lie in absolutism.
With this said, as citizens it is our responsibility and purpose to elect representatives that will work together, that will listen to one another, build relationships with one another, and be willing to admit fault. It is time to build a coalition of representatives who put country before party, and virtue before donors. A coalition built around civil discourse.
I believe a new litmus test and contract is required as following for those seeking office:
- They should refuse to sign any bill that does not have bipartisan sponsorship
- They should only accept campaign donations from individuals
- They should support campaign finance reform
- They should voice their opinion when they disagree with their party
- They should admit when they believe they have made a mistake
I am sure many of people who understand politics far better than I can find plenty of things to add to this list and means to enforce it. But from here on out I believe these are the qualities we should demand from our elected officials. If they fail to uphold them, elect someone who will. Civil discourse and willingness to understand each other must come before party lines.
It is time for compromise, it is time as Joe Biden said reflecting on McCain to, “fight like hell on civil rights and then go have lunch together”. It is time to admit there is no right or wrong answer for every policy issue. It is time to admit fault as citizens for the current state of affairs. It is time to rebuild our sense of community. Let us make John McCain proud, and elect officials that make the ten year olds of today aspire to build a more perfect union tomorrow.
