To the Republic

By Cindy Gomez
Editor

Watching county commission meetings may not always be entertaining, but it is informative. While watching the People’s Press Project (PPP) coverage of the latest County Commission meeting, I did a mental pause when they were reciting the pledge of allegiance; right at the part where you say “and to the republic for which it stands.” Huh?

We are not a “Republic,” I thought. We’re a democracy. We’ve all been suckled at the teat of democracy. We have fought wars for democracy. We’ve invaded countries in the name of democracy! We’re called the greatest democracy in the world. Too bad we’re actually a Republic. No wonder politics are so hard to understand!

Don’t worry. It’s not you. Politics, and policy making is like a greased pig. Dirty, tough to get a grip on and constantly shifting. When you finally catch the pig, there’s a prize. Unlike the pig, however, which can be turned into something pleasant like bacon; politics only becomes more gruesome, disgusting, and confusing after you get to peek inside the sausage factory.

Anyone who’s actually seen a bill go from proposal to signed law can attest. There is nothing quite as complicated or tedious as policy making. When the health care reform bill began, it set out to address the more than 100 million Americans with inadequate or no health insurance. It was meant to give us options to access the kind of quality health care that congressmen have; the kind of “world class” class health care that the U.S. keeps touting we have.

In the end, what we really got was an unrecognizable, stripped-down version of the original bill. Was it even worth passing? Did it really do what it set out to do? Was anyone really benefited by this bill’s passage? Yes, of course. Some of what was passed will make tiny changes, beginning steps toward what the bill imagined. Most of what it intended is gone, however.

If you are one of those people who feels lost when it comes to legislation, you are not alone. It seems almost as if the system is set up precisely to evoke that feeling of loss and confusion! How can you truly grasp, explain, and follow something that shifts shape all the time? It’s also difficult to find out what effect a piece of legislation will have.

The Dream Act is a perfect example. Our dysfunctional and slow-as-molasses immigration system leaves many who should rightfully be citizens of the U.S. without a country to call home. Many are children of U.S.-born citizens, who were brought to this country in their infancy or early childhood and whose parents have been waiting for the U.S. Immigration system to process their petitions sponsoring their children for legal citizenship ever since.

Now, new immigration laws aimed at limiting immigration have deemed these old applications “void,” ruling that the applicants are no longer eligible to be sponsored by their parents once they turn 18. When the government gets too far behind in its work, it can arbitrarily change the rules, dump the backlog and just start over.

The Dream Act set out to provide a remedy for the millions upon millions of individuals who our own government has cheated out of their rightful claim to citizenship, family, and an education. The original intent wasn’t as focused on creating a new pathway to citizenship as it was in making people who were already were eligible for citizenship, re-eligible. It was, of course, never really explained to Americans in this way. Somehow, this poor bill morphed from a piece of legislation aimed at righting a wrong into a piece of legislation no one could support.

The Dream Act used to include provisions allowing students to pay in-state tuition; and required them to earn an AA in college, complete several years of public service (e.g. Peace Corps) or service in the military. The final version of the billl was stripped of all but the military pathway to qualification. What were we left with? An internment system, a military recruitment machine. And a bill which, even in its mutated state, died.

And yet, it is our responsibility to remain civically active; to engage in democracy. But, that’s not easy either. Especially since we’re not really a democracy.

Which brings us full circle to the Pledge of Allegiance. Next time you see a public governmental meeting and hear the pledge, listen. It contains the phrase “...and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, under God. Indivisible. With liberty and justice for all.” Without getting into the veracity of the pledge’s promises, let’s just focus on the “republic” part. Are we a democracy or a republic?

Our politicians would have us think we’re both. When its convenient for them to claim we are democracy, they tell us our votes are paramount! We are exhorted to come to Town Hall meetings, engage in referendums, ballot initiatives. When our politicians don’t want our input, they tell us we’re a republic. The whole reason for a republic is to have the elected officials decide for the uninformed public. That’s what we elected those officials for, right?
The reality is that we’re neither a democracy nor a true republic. We’re a hybrid of both. We do have referendums (one of the key components of a democracy). We can recall politicians, we can put initiatives on the ballot. We can bring issues to a vote that we as a community decide on. These elements allow people to override their representatives. However, we have nothing like this on a bi-state, multi-state, or national level. Democracy, like our laws, is stripped down into a form that’s only really applicable in local townships, cities, counties and local state politics.

Better we should know this now, than to keep wandering the policymaking landscape with blinders on. When you realize that the most impact you can ever have is in your local government—and that any national policy impact you can have will likely come from the local impact you create—it changes everything about how you approach civic engagement. It’s where the whole idea of thinking globally and acting locally comes from.

For this coming year, that’s our challenge to our HPR readers. This year was filled with tough economic times, disappointments, and many lessons about the deception of government. We can’t let 2011 catch us unprepared and ambivalent. We may not be a true democracy, but we can strive to look more and more like one! But in order to achieve that, we’ve got to hold our representatives accountable, and engage in local democracy to the fullest extent!

For some important local issues, check out last week’s editorial “Not Necessarily The News”. To see PPP’s Video coverage, visit our Fargo School Board Channel at:
http://vimeo.com/channels/144298
For Cass County Commission Meetings, visit:
http://vimeo.com/channels/148786

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