If we are to Renew America, we must work together
We need a conversation with civility, diplomacy and bipartisanship to get our country back on track
U.S. global influence, and our very security itself, is greatly dependent on domestic U.S. politics and policies. All of us who served in Vietnam understood this all too well. For most of the last decade, as China and Russia have risen to become peer competitors, and even potential adversaries, national security analysts have said “Fix America first.” But what is wrong, and how do we fix it?
Essentially, we have created over the last several decades, a badly polarized society that has hobbled the United States.
There are many causes and alleged causes. There is fear, racism, inequitable distribution of wealth and power, political squabbling, egos and the clash of competing ideas, and on and on.
But at the bottom it is simply about us, our faith in the democratic process and how we communicate with each other. Much of the polarized partisanship of the last decade is related to a feeling of separation or “being left out.” The working class in America feels left behind, as automation and financialization take over their jobs. Minorities across the world, from the United States to Palestine to China, face repressive actions that separate them from a democratic way of life. Even strong alliance networks have weakened, as countries feel excluded or underrepresented in institutions like NATO and the World Health Organization (WHO). The simple act of a bipartisan conversation, reaching out to the excluded party, can make a significant difference.
This act of open communication comes in many forms. At the highest level, it involves the United States reaching out to allies in Europe reaffirming American values and strengthening our alliances through diplomacy and commitment. At the lowest levels, it involves a civil conversation at the dinner table between a Republican and a Democrat, finding common ground to begin bridging the gaping political chasm in American society. The United States has an entire arsenal of democratic institutions to facilitate these discussions and should do everything possible to rebuild alliances, prevent democratic backsliding and facilitate bipartisanship throughout the country.
Facilitating bipartisan discussions in order to bridge the partisan gap in the United States is what Renew America Together seeks to accomplish. Ultimately, as Americans, we have a choice: continue down a path of polarization, hunkering down into our echo chambers and condemning those that think or act differently, or rely on the tenets of our historic democratic “experiment” to facilitate civility, diplomacy and bipartisanship in our daily lives.
Join me at 6 p.m. on July 1 to continue this conversation with the World Affairs Council of Albuquerque.