Americans must commit to democracy

In his Inaugural Address on January 20, President Joe Biden said, “Democracy prevailed.”

President Biden was referring to the January 6 insurrection at the Capitol in Washington D.C.

As I watched the TV coverage of that horrific attack upon American democracy, I thought about Frank Staab.

Mr. Staab, a retired FBI agent, taught American history and government at St. Francis DeSales High School in my hometown of Louisville, Ky. 

He introduced me to the U.S. Constitution, our system of representative democracy, the privileges and responsibilities of citizenship and much more. 

Inspired by his class, I registered to vote (and for the draft) at age 18. I was eager to participate in the democratic process. 

And because of him, among others, I majored in history and minored in political science at the University of Louisville.  I joined a campus group affiliated with a political party; and, in 1972, for the first of many times that followed, I volunteered in the presidential campaign. I cast my first vote in that election. I have voted in every election since.

On January 6, 2021, the day this Republic was nearly overthrown, I thought of Frank Staab, who would have been appalled, because this attack, spurred by a lie, revealed an ignorance of and contempt for democracy and an alarming desire for autocracy.

Every democracy, including our own, is imperfect, but as Winston Churchill said in a speech to the House of Commons in 1947, it is better than all the other forms that have been tried. 

We Americans, whatever our political party, must work together to strengthen our democratic institutions in order to preserve them. 

Long before the January 6 insurrection, the American Academy of Arts & Sciences made a proposal to do so. “Our Common Purpose: Reinventing American Democracy for the 21st Century” is the work of a commission of distinguished scholars, elected leaders and citizens. Common Purpose is available at www.Amacad.org. 

“We on this bipartisan Commission believe that the profoundly challenging conditions of the twenty-first century pose an urgent threat to the future of our democratic way of life….” 

Referring to America’s three previous “foundings”—the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia in 1787, the Civil War and Reconstruction, the civil rights movement—the  commission calls for a “fourth founding: rooted not only in the language of our Constitution and laws, but also in our expanded national creed of liberty and justice for all; 

“not only in the actions of government, but also in the commitments of citizens; not only in the reinvention of federal structures, but also in the devolution of power to local governance; not only in research and analysis, but also in love of country and one another.” 

The commission proposes six strategies to strengthen American democracy: broaden representation, empower voters, make political institutions more responsive; and educate and engage citizens; redesign social media platforms to support Constitutional democracy and inspire Americans to commit to it and one another. 

The commission makes 31 recommendations based on these strategies, including investment in civic educators and civic education for all ages and all communities.

As the Constitutional Convention concluded in 1787, someone asked delegate Benjamin Franklin what kind of government America would have. He answered, “A Republic, if you can keep it.” 

I am thankful for Frank Staab’s class. We need many more such teachers, as well as leaders and citizens committed to preserving this Republic. May democracy prevail in America always.