By Laurie Bergner
Yesterday was Halloween, and time to enjoy being a little scared by monsters and things that go bump in the night. But after the fun of Halloween is over, we’re left with scarier things.
Recently, a four-year-old interview with retired Supreme Court Justice David Souter has been looked at anew, as it seems to be prophetic. Justice Souter said that his biggest fear for our country was not a foreign invasion or military coup, but our civic ignorance, ignorance of how government can and should function, and who is responsible for problems. Souter quoted Benjamin Franklin, who said, “an ignorant people cannot remain free.” He went on to say that democracy cannot survive too much ignorance. Souter worried that because people don’t understand who to hold responsible for problems, when problems become bad enough, someone will come forward and say “give me total power and I will solve this problem.” That, he said, is how the Roman Republic fell, and that is how democracy dies. This, he said, is what you should worry about at night.
Much has been written and talked about regarding this presidential election, so I’m sure I don’t really need to be writing about it. And yet, like most people, I find it impossible to think about much else, and so please excuse my taking this month’s forum to do so. I realize that it may sound silly to many to worry about our democracy, to think that it might be seriously harmed, since we have a strong Constitution and such a long and stable history. But we should never take it for granted. When people vote in anger, seeking easy solutions with people who promise to solve difficult problems, it does not work out well. We have seen the way this recently played out in Britain, when they seriously harmed their own country by voting to leave the European Union, a decision no one expected could occur and everyone now agrees is terrible for them. Before two days had passed after the vote, it was obvious that easy promises and lies had seduced voters into making a disastrous vote. There was plenty of reason for the people to be angry, and to believe that there were many problems with the European Union. But refusing to consider experts’ arguments and voting in anger and protest led to terrible votes.
It’s always easier for candidates to capitalize on people’s anger and frustrations, and that is certainly the case in this election. It’s easy to say I’ll get rid of Obamacare than to actually find a solution to our rising health care costs. It’s easy to say I’ll get us lots of jobs than to know how to get that done. It sounds so good, but these are difficult, complicated problems with no easy solutions. Voting out of anger, voting for change just for change’s sake, isn’t a solution.
I can only hope that American voters will not be led by false promises with no experience behind them, promises based on trashing everything about our government and those who criticize him, to ignore the danger to what has truly made us great and continues to make us great: our way of democracy.
Laurie Bergner is a clinical psychologist in private practice, working with individual adults, families and couples. She also works with the nonpartisan League of Women Voters, helping organize candidates forums, educational programs, and many issues in the field of law and justice. She has received many recognitions in both fields, including YWCA’s Women of Distinction in the Professions, Leaguer of the Year, LWV Special Project Awards, and the LWV of Illinois’s prestigious Carrie Chapman Catt award. Laurie has a wonderful husband and two grown children – also wonderful. She loves biking in the countryside, reading, and traveling.
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