So, it seems, most of us hold these truths to be self-evident:
We are a polarized people and becoming more so every day. What could be more
solid proof than the popularity of Trump’s extreme views and the unrelenting
protests of the Bernie-or-busters?
It sure can feel like the only thing on which Americans can
agree is that our deep ideological divisions are gridlocking government, so
nothing can get done by either side.
Surprisingly, though, despite all the handwringing about
dysfunctional division, there is much that unites us — even on contentious
topics.
A 2014 study comparing
red congressional districts and states to blue ones asked 388 questions on
hot-topic issues ranging from abortion to gun control.
In two-thirds of cases,
researchers found “no statistical differences” in the answers between
Republican and Democratic strongholds.
That’s the big picture. Now take a look at five issues where
polls uncover wide agreement:
- Climate
change. Americans’ concern about global
warming is at an eight-year high, with a record 65 percent
of us now blaming human activity for rising temperatures.
- Gun
control. Eighty-five percent
of Americans — including large majorities of both Republicans and
Democrats — favor closing gun-sale loopholes by enforcing background
checks for private gun sales and at gun shows.
- Our
federal tax system. Six in 10 of
us believe that upper-income Americans do not pay enough in taxes, while 82 percent are
bothered — either “some” or “a lot” — that corporations are not paying
their fair tax share.
- The
influence of big business.
More than three-quarters of
Americans believe that large corporations and a few rich people wield
excessive and unfair power in this country. A whopping 71 percent of
Americans across the political spectrum believe that the economy is rigged
in favor of a few special interests.
- Special
interests’ influence in our political institutions. Eighty-four percent
of Americans think that money has too much influence in elections. Nearly 8 in 10 favor
limits on both raising and spending money in congressional campaigns.
Meanwhile,78 percent
of Americans, including 80 percent of Republicans, want to
overturn the Supreme Court’s 2010 Citizens United decision
that further opened the floodgates to corporate campaign spending,
including spending from undisclosed sources.
So how can such common ground exist while we still can’t
seem to address any of these deep problems?
A big clue is found in the last bullet point above, the crisis
we love to call “privately held government.”
Through this lens, we can see that
the problem is less that we’re gridlocked along partisan lines and more that
we’ve allowed the power of private wealth to lock up our public problem-solving
process — i.e., democracy itself.
When our representatives spend more time each day dialing for
dollars than dealing with citizen viewpoints and values, we’re
in big trouble. Four to five hours a day fundraising on the phone has become
common.
Inevitably, elected officials end up promoting the interests of
their donors, not because they are crooks but because we’ve set the rules up so
that legislators’ very jobs depend on how well they serve the funders. Figuring
this out, as the cliché goes, doesn’t take a Ph.D. in political science.
So the big question: Can those inside this “rigged”
system actually reform it?
Ultimately, of course, only those inside have
the power to seal the deal, and right now we’re witnessing history on this
journey to move sentiments from the outside into power on the inside.
In response to massive citizen anger and pressure, the
Democratic Party’s platform commits to leveling the playing field for
candidates and enlarging the number of voters by reforming rules governing how
we fund elections, including contribution disclosure, as well as how we vote
(including making Election Day a national holiday) and how we confront
gerrymandering.
The party also commits itself to move forward an amendment to
the Constitution effectively overruling Supreme Court decisions that have
awarded corporations rights to heavily influence our elections. But, caveat
voter: To make its lofty promises real, this same party will have to turn its
back on the same moneyed
elite it is currently relying upon.
The Republican platform, meanwhile, completely ignores the
stranglehold money has on politics. Nowhere in the 54-page document is there a
mention of campaign finance reform.
Nonetheless, there are at least a few
Republican politicians, some in Congress, and some trying to
influence it from the outside, who are fed up with the money
chase and prepared to support legislation that would give them back some level
of independence.
We citizens cannot rest until an agenda that makes our
democratic system equally accessible to all is enacted. That won’t happen without
the help of both parties. The presidential race is crucial, of course, but
electing to Congress those who support this democracy agenda is also key.
So let’s challenge the discouraging and false notion that we’re
hopelessly divided.
Instead, let’s celebrate how much we agree on and get
to work identifying candidates willing to address the root of the crisis that
blocks action on this wide agreement.
With confidence we can then embrace our
foundational task as citizens: building a democracy “movement of movements”
that does not quit until all voices are heard.
Frances Moore Lappé is the author of EcoMind: Changing the Way We Think to
Create the World We Want (Nation Books) and 17 other books including
the acclaimed Diet for a Small Planet.
She is also a YES! contributing editor.
Giulio Caperchi, a researcher at the Small Planet
Institute, holds a Master’s degree in Sociology and Political Theory from the
University of London.
