Opinion: We do not need to be 'great again,' but to continue on a path to greatness
Human history is the story of the rise and fall of many kingdoms, empires, and nations. Today, can we learn anything that can help us to avoid the decline and fall of the many previous fallen nations? As an approximately 250-year-old constitutional democracy, America is being tested now to see if it can endure, just as Lincoln stated in his Gettysburg address. Let us think about what is the source of the power of a democracy to endure.
We have seen and are now seeing how autocrats like Putin of Russia make great mistakes. We saw great mistakes in the years before and during World War II in Europe with Franco, Mussolini, Hitler, and Tojo. When single persons gain great power, becoming an autocrat, they are setting up themselves and their nation to fail. In other words, a key strength of a democracy is that power is widely shared and there are “checks and balances” of those with the most power. In addition to the branches of the government to check each other, there are freedoms for both institutions, organizations, and individuals that check the concentration of power in society.
An essential check on power is a free press and freedom of speech. In addition, academic institutions are a source of criticism of power (We see in Putin’s Russia, that neither a free press or free speech is allowed.) Again, another important check is the right of people to assemble and protest. This often involves marches and demonstrations, provided they are not violent. (Again, in Putin’s Russia, protesting demonstrations are not allowed.) Some may remember that former President Trump thought of shooting protestors in the legs.) Other checks on power could be mentioned. An important one is limited terms in office. (We see autocrats, such as Xi Jin Ping, have themselves made head of government for life.)
As a religious person, I must add that freedom of religion is very important for a nation. When we look at history, unfortunately religions have been used by autocrats to boost their power and oppress portions of the population. (Putin has returned to the church to boost his power.) At the same time, religions have been a source of inspiration, ideas, and actions for reforms in societies and governments. In addition to every check on power mentioned so far (and I am sure readers can think of other checks), simply individuals have been motivated to lead in making important changes to preserve what is best in society.
All of the above checks along with the addition of legislatures and courts plus competing political parties enable democracies to self-correct and learn from mistakes. Like all nations, America has made some major mistakes, particularly in institutionalizing slavery and later segregation, beginning even before the founding of the nation. The cost of this mistake was horrendous in the Civil War, but democracy made it possible to survive this mistake.
Concurrent oppression of indigenous people and continuing oppression of minorities and immigrants have also been costly in terms of the loss of the contribution of talented people. Confinement of Japanese American citizens during World War II was certainly a costly mistake in terms of harming the lives of people, who contribute much to the nation. Many of the mistakes America has made could have contributed to the decline and failure of the nation. Overcoming these mistakes and blunders have taken a struggle lasting the age of our democracy to overcome.
We are now facing a great danger of falling away from continuing to maintain the principles of our democracy. Various parts of our society are identifying aspects of our society that are unjust and do not reflect the basic values and implications of those values that are at the foundation of our society. There are still people who can let the desire for power bring great harm to the nation. The need of a society to continually identify aspects of society that need changing in the direction of “liberty and justice for all” shows that a society is ultimately dependent on the sense of justice and fairness that a people have. Perhaps the most basic check on our “decline and fall” is the sense of humility to recognize that like all nations before us, we are human and subject to faults, some of which could lead to our “decline and fall.”
We do not need to be “great again,” but to continue on a path to greatness.
Rev. Robert L. Montgomery, who holds a Ph.D. in social scientific studies of religion, lives in Black Mountain.
This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Opinion: Can we avoid the decline, fall of previous fallen nations?
