It's Time for a Much-Needed Civics and History Lesson

Transcript of George Washington's Farewell Address

Washington's farewell address is not outdated.  It is, as far as I am concerned, one of the seminal, foundational documents of American History, evidence which defines the very core essence of American idealism and patriotism.  It is one of the most articulate definitions of what can be called "The American Spirit" that exists from any of our founding fathers.  Washington not only understood that what was being founded in America was a new nation, requiring a sense of unity of purpose that went well beyond where most of the population understood or envisioned, but was also completely different than what had existed almost anywhere else in the world at the time.  

Putting forward that kind of change in thinking would be a hard sell today; in 1796, it must have been very difficult indeed.  And yet, Washington bridged the philosophical gap between the influence of "religion" as he defined it, and the influence of the Enlightenment philosophy that was also powerful among those who settled and developed what became the United States of America.  

When it came to having an understanding of the corrosive, destructive effect of what he called "the dangers of parties in the state," he was uncannily prophetic: 

"It [a political partisan spirit] serves always to distract the public councils and enfeeble the public administration. It agitates the community with ill-founded jealousies and false alarms, kindles the animosity of one part against another, foments occasionally riot and insurrection. It opens the door to foreign influence and corruption, which finds a facilitated access to the government itself through the channels of party passions. Thus the policy and the will of one country are subjected to the policy and will of another.

There is an opinion that parties in free countries are useful checks upon the administration of the government and serve to keep alive the spirit of liberty. This within certain limits is probably true; and in governments of a monarchical cast, patriotism may look with indulgence, if not with favor, upon the spirit of party. But in those of the popular character, in governments purely elective, it is a spirit not to be encouraged. From their natural tendency, it is certain there will always be enough of that spirit for every salutary purpose. And there being constant danger of excess, the effort ought to be by force of public opinion, to mitigate and assuage it. A fire not to be quenched, it demands a uniform vigilance to prevent its bursting into a flame, lest, instead of warming, it should consume." George Washington from his Farewell Address

That statement could have been written yesterday. 

Liberty is Exactly What it Is

"The alternate domination of one faction over another, sharpened by the spirit of revenge, natural to party dissension, which in different ages and countries has perpetrated the most horrid enormities, is itself a frightful despotism. But this leads at length to a more formal and permanent despotism. The disorders and miseries which result gradually incline the minds of men to seek security and repose in the absolute power of an individual; and sooner or later the chief of some prevailing faction, more able or more fortunate than his competitors, turns this disposition to the purposes of his own elevation, on the ruins of public liberty." George Washington's Farewell Address

One of the biggest mistakes we make is thinking about the freedom we have in this country as belonging exclusively to us, and not to anyone else.  That is, it belongs to them as long as they think like we do.  But one man's freedom becomes another man's oppression and tyranny if the system tilts in that direction. 

America is a representative democracy, which is, at least as far as I am concerned, the best way to place political power in the hands of the people, as the constitution directs.  There are several distinct periods of American history, influenced and marked by specific historical events, when one political faction and philosophy dominated politics for an extended period of time, long enough to be considered an "era" by definition.  And while those in the minority clearly do not like how the government operates under the opposition, if they are true patriots, and they understand how a representative democracy works,  including the constitutional protection of their rights regardless of the faction that is in power, they are still contributors to national unity.  

To be patriotic requires mutual respect when it comes to the rights and liberties of others.  And to get to that point, the prejudices and selfish interests of people must be overcome, as Washington says, "enlightening public opinion."  

It is substantially true that virtue or morality is a necessary spring of popular government. The rule, indeed, extends with more or less force to every species of free government. Who that is a sincere friend to it can look with indifference upon attempts to shake the foundation of the fabric?

Promote then, as an object of primary importance, institutions for the general diffusion of knowledge. In proportion as the structure of a government gives force to public opinion, it is essential that public opinion should be enlightened.  George Washington's Farewell Address

Enlightening Public Opinion

One of the specific goals of compulsory public education as it began to form and then became the primary means by which American students get an education is to preserve the republic by providing an educated and informed electorate.  With conspiracy theories, misinformation and outright lies circulating and gaining as much acceptance as they currently receive, I'd say that public education is failing in its purpose.  Whether that's because we are overloaded with information from so many different sources, each motivated by profit when it comes to getting "hits" and "going viral," or because public education no longer delivers on this specific goal, representative democracy in America is suffering. 

Multiple audits, recounts and "pseudo-audits" have been conducted, including many by firms connected directly to Trump and his campaign supporters, and have been forced to conclude, based on hard evidence, that there was no massive voter fraud in the 2020 election and that President Biden was legitimately elected.  Most of these audits, because they are being conducted by Trumpies, are very low-key and understated when they present their reports, because what little evidence of fraud shows up looks like someone on the Trump side did it.  Well, if there's an opportunity for fraud, there's someone who will take it.  But the conclusions are universal in their agreement that there isn't a shred of evidence of "massive voter fraud" on a scale that would have affected the outcome of the election.  What has been discovered has subtracted more votes from Trump and added more to Biden's total. 

Being uneducated, or lacking proper education, is the only legitimate reason I can think of for believing "the big lie."  As a politician, Trump demands personal loyalty, while being a truly patriotic American demands loyalty to country, constitution and American idealism, not to any individual leader or politician.  Washington embodied and articulated those ideals, and anyone with a decent education should know the difference.  The insurrectionists who have been caught and arrested, every single one of them, claimed that they were there out of loyalty to Donald Trump, not to the United States of America.  They were in desperate need of a lesson in American history and civics to correct their ignorance. 

And don't feed me the line that "both sides are equally guilty."  That isn't true.  There are Democrats who demonstrate a level of ignorance about the function of civil government.  But as a party, Democrats do not exhibit the kind of "winner take all," "rig the system" kind of approach that Republicans do.  Even when they were the minority party, they didn't roll that way.  That's another consequence of the lack of enlightened public opinion among conservatives.  They've listened to extremists in the media like Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity and Tucker Carlson who ignore patriotic ideals which include respect for others who don't think like they do, and they've made liberals, moderates and independent, free thinking conservatives into enemies, rather than fellow American citizens with differences of opinion. 

And no, there aren't many "independent, free thinking conservatives," which is an oxymoron most of the time.  But look how they hate Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger.  And they were ready to hang Mike Pence.  The only means of motivating ignorance is fear, and there's sure plenty of that on Fox News, Newsmax and the EIB Network.

Expanding the Enlightenment of Public Opinion

There are those who think we are teetering on the bring of disaster, and representative democracy in America as we know it is about to cease its existence.  It is clear that there's a significant segment of the American public who are completely ignorant about American patriotism and idealism, and have no idea what's at stake except the advancement of their own selfish interests.  America's existence largely depended heavily, as Washington pointed out, on honesty and trust.  The insurrectionists who temporarily took over the Capitol building on January 6th shattered that, if there was much left to break at that point.  They want an autocracy of their own making, and are not interested in a representative democracy that permits other opinions.  So they are no longer patriots and no longer value the constitution.  

But I think they can still be defeated by the same idealism that we've always used.  Our revolutions and reforms come out of the ballot box.  Most Americans, 70% of them if you believe the composite polling data, were horrified by January 6th, hopefully horrified enough that when election time comes around, with a few reminders, they'll remember just how they felt that day.  Between now and November of 2022, most of those people need a few reminders that will help them know exactly how to cast their ballot.  If they are ignorant of civics, you'll hear it in their language and if a politician doesn't think January 6th was a subversive insurrection, they should not get elected.