Able, But Willing?
Thursday, January 25, 2007(The Harwood Institute for Public Innovation)
Able, But Willing?
by Richard C. Harwood
- The Tampa
Tribune, October 19, 2000
Much is being
made about how the presidential candidates have
failed to connect with the American public this
year. But are the candidates alone responsible
for that? For no matter how well - or poorly -
the candidates perform, at some point
individual Americans must step forward to do
their part. That's not happening
today.
Too many of us have become
"delinquent citizens," as one woman put it to
me recently in one of our research
forums.
Many Americans tell us the
candidates are boring and not "believable."
People hear from them lots of arguments over
whose numbers are correct, rhetorical claims
about whose program is better and the constant
shrill of mind-numbingly rehearsed lines. In a
word, people say this campaign is
"confusing."
Yet, in the very next
breath, many people say they've hardly lifted a
finger to fill the gaps in what they
know.
People also complain about the
news media. They lament that there's been too
much hype over such events as the "Gore kiss"
at the Democratic convention, excessive
attention paid to verbal slips by Gov. George
W. Bush, and silly and seemingly endless
analysis over which candidate has "won" a
debate. Yet, while many people say they know of
good and trusted news sources, they report that
they do relatively little to search out and use
them.
FAR TOO MANY Americans tell us
they no longer have the time to participate.
More pressing personal matters take up their
attention. They don't want to be let down by
another political leader. They do not believe
that they themselves can make a
difference.
Just how much do we want
handed to us without making an effort on our
own?
Today, we must ask if we are doing
our part in the political
process.
Surely this campaign leaves a
lot to be desired. Many of the concerns people
hold are not being adequately addressed. The
candidates can't seem to decide if they want to
truly debate their competing directions for the
nation, succumb entirely to negative
campaigning or embrace the polite, superficial
civility of Miss Manners.
But if a
campaign doesn't meet our expectations, should
we simply turn our backs on it? For if we do
not engage, then should we be surprised when
political leaders pander to get our attention?
When we sit on the sidelines as passive
spectators, are we signaling the candidates to
entertain us with flashing lights, celebrities
and slick sloganeering? And as we declare we
have no time for public life, should we
complain when the candidates ignore so many
people and try to sway those little groups of
voters that will go to the polls? What is the
measure of people's own
responsibility?
In The Harwood
Institute's five-year, national Political
Conduct Initiative, we spent two years engaging
Americans in nationwide Citizen Assemblies to
identify key factors for political conduct.
Citizens were quick to point out the kind of
conduct they seek from candidates and news
media. They urge them to act to improve their
conduct.
BUT PERHAPS SURPRISING to some
people, citizens were absolutely adamant that
part of the discussion in America must turn to
the conduct of citizens themselves. And that's
good.
For recently I was on the radio
call-in show "Talk of the Nation" and a
listener said he was frustrated by how hard it
is to register to vote.
I asked, "What's
the problem?" He responded that he'd have to go
down to the local government office to register
and that it would take too much
time.
But how much time could it take -
maybe an hour? Is that too much to
ask?
Should voting be as easy as
channel- surfing on the tube? Pulling a box of
cereal from the grocer's shelf? Ordering a
trinket off the Internet?
If registering
to vote is not worth an hour, just how much
time might this fellow put into becoming an
informed voter and citizen?
Just beneath
people's complaints and doubts about politics,
Americans hold deep and abiding aspirations for
their role in the political process. They call
to end this time of neglect. For citizens to
put forth a genuine effort; to decide that
there is something important in their
involvement. There are easy things to start
with - paying attention to debates, watching
the news, reading up on the candidates, talking
to one another about the issues.
Teddy
Roosevelt said in a speech in 1902, "The first
requisite of a good citizen in this republic of
ours is that he should be able and willing to
pull his own weight." Nearly 100 years later,
Roosevelt's call to individual Americans still
speaks to us.