Like everyone else, I’ve been reading about the abysmal prospects for our country after the presidential debate, and there’s one recurring theme: the problem is the candidates. This is simple and convenient, but I think it is wrong. One guy is clearly incompetent and the other guy is a jerk, but in any republic or democracy, the candidates reflect things about who we are as a nation.
You have to ask yourself how, in a population of over 300 million people, these two guys are the best we can do. Of course, the easy conclusion is that we have been beguiled by the system or the parties or the candidates. However, in a free society, the beauty and danger is that our government is indirectly and directly driven by us, the people. Our constitution starts with these three words: We the people. This idea was derived from the fact that our nation gets its power from the people, not from sovereign rulers or Congress. This is the foundation that our constitution and country are built upon, but currently, we, as responsible Americans, aren’t using our power when it counts the most.
I find myself in conversations with people griping about our political system. This seems to be ever more popular. However, nothing is going to change if more people don’t get actively involved in their government. The way to get change is not to sit on the sidelines and complain—it's to get more qualified people to run for office or get involved in our political system in some material way.
The uninitiated’s argument is that it doesn’t matter who is in office—that the whole system is a sham. This thought is interesting and has some virtues except for one—it’s not true.
For example, when we started out, we were ruled by the British Empire—and it was taking advantage of us. What if Samuel Adams, Ben Franklin, and Thomas Jefferson had sat around grumbling over a beer and didn’t do anything about it? During the Spanish-American War, Teddy Roosevelt formed his own regiment, traveled to Cuba, and fought. He did something. During WWII, the country and the world at large faced the enormous threat of Adolf Hitler. But then, unlike now, the sons and daughters of our leaders actually went to war and put themselves at great risk. Joseph P Kennedy had a son named John Kennedy, and John Kennedy went to war. Joe Kennedy’s eldest son was killed in that war. FDR’s son went to war. They did something.
The heroic part of our country is that, since its inception, the people got involved and took action. We didn’t sit around and just complain about Hitler—we took him out. Thoughts don’t mean much—it’s what you do that counts.
Overall, I still believe in the people and our natural inclination to know right from wrong. Our people have a horse sense for what good work is. I believe in the decency of Americans and their ability to seek out their moral compass and take action.
There is something built into our country and its goodness that makes us want to right the ship. And there is something very clearly wrong with our political system today. There’s always going to be disparities in wealth and privilege—but our country is unique in that it was formed as a democracy, or at least as a republic. Sure, go ahead and vote, but we all need to do more. If you don’t like the way things are, run for office. We aren’t dealing with a qualified tough political class, so once we get involved beyond voting, we can realize the potential of our country since its truly unique inception.
And since July 4 is in a few days, let me end with a quote by John F. Kennedy: Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.
More must-read commentary published by Fortune:
- Booz Allen Hamilton CEO: America needs a whole-of-nation approach in its great power competition with China
- ‘A head-in-the-sand approach’: The U.S. strategic drug stockpile is inadequate for a bird flu outbreak
- The national debt is over $34 trillion. It’s time to tell the truth about the U.S. government’s finances
- ‘Sometimes, the facts don’t matter’: Attacks on DEI are an anti-capitalist war on American prosperity
The opinions expressed in Fortune.com commentary pieces are solely the views of their authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions and beliefs of Fortune.
