In the grand sweep of history, democracies tend to enjoy short, happy lives.
The virtues and struggles that released the energies of free people and gave rise to prosperity slacken and decay. The appetites of the citizenry eventually exceed their ability or willingness to pay for them. Security requirements become less valued when placed on the scale of popular social programs. Elected officials, eager to please their constituents, identify multiple third rails that are to be avoided upon pain of political death. National debts are permitted to grow, shifting the financial burden to future generations. Legislative compromise is abandoned as partisan advocates plant their flags in ideological cement and replace handshakes with closed fists. Procedural sand is thrown into the gears of governmental machinery, producing paralysis and dysfunction. Geopolitical influence recedes as friends are confounded and adversaries emboldened.
History need not be destiny, but the march of folly is well underway in America. Elections are just days away, but unless there is a seismic shift at the polls that would give one party a dominating numerical advantage, little change is likely before 2016.
Unfortunately, there are no holidays from history, and world events demonstrate daily that American leadership cannot be put on a two-year electoral shelf.
While important issues such as immigration and environmental and regulatory reforms should remain high on the agenda in 2016, there are steps that need to be addressed now.
First, we need to put our fiscal house in order. The national debt is approaching $18 trillion, and it is unsustainable. We cannot expect to remain an influential force for stability in the world when our financial pillars are starting to crack under excessive weight. Changes in our tax code to promote greater fairness and predictability and induce more job creation are imperative.
Second, the witless imposition of across-the-board cuts in discretionary programs must end. “Sequester” is a simple solution that is unworthy of a legislator’s duty to act responsibly in weighing the competing merits of the electorate’s demands.
For example, cuts in the defense budget can be made, but they should be done with a surgeon’s knife and not a slaughter house’s rotary saw.
The same rule of rationality should apply to domestic programs. With the Ebola virus reminding us of the dangers posed by infectious diseases, mindless cuts in medical and scientific research are the hallmark of self-destructive misgovernment.
Third, we need to restore a sense of confidence in our institutions and respect for each other. Key to that restoration is to set high standards for ethical and professional conduct and to insist upon strict adherence to them. Any neglect or breach of trust should be treated as a firing offense.
Finally, the American people should insist upon the restoration of civil discourse in our personal relationships and public debates. We have been “defining decency down” in our conduct and manner of speech. Pointing fingers, hurling invective and indulging in character assassination are the equivalent of spraying ineradicable graffiti on the walls of our “shining city on the hill.” It demeans and discredits us all, and it needs to stop.
William S. Cohen, a Bangor native, represented Maine in the U.S. House and Senate before serving as Secretary of Defense in the second term of President Bill Clinton’s administration. A Bowdoin College graduate, Cohen has published 11 works of fiction, nonfiction and poetry.