In a few years I was expected to be an adult capable of making my own decisions, but I was not encouraged to develop thinking skills or my own values. I felt unprepared to be a responsible participant in the democracy that I soon was to inherit.
I was told that if I wanted to succeed – which meant having a good job, a house and a family – all I needed to do was find a college a lot like my high school. This option seemed less and less appealing as I approached graduation.
I began to wonder about some crucial areas that my education didn’t address. If democracy is about respecting the rights of individuals, how do we bring that quality into our lives and the real world? If we have free choice, how do I avoid a clash between my freedom and that of others? In a democracy we can vote for the candidate of our choice, but how do we make that choice? What values should I expect candidates to represent to earn my vote? And perhaps most importantly, how do I clarify my own values?
I wondered what democracy really looks like. Is it rows of homes in the suburbs filled with families whose children play team sports that they support with car washes? Is it conflict in the streets between police and protesters who believe that the country is heading in the wrong direction? Or is democracy about getting the best job I can while ignoring the poverty and inequality around me?
I wasn’t the only young person in the late 1960s who had doubts about the values that seemed to run our world. Youthful protestors filled the streets in the US, France and other countries. They objected to what they considered the shallow post-war world we inherited where material possessions were the driving force. But if there was an alternative, the protesters also didn’t seem clear about what that might be.
I never received a satisfactory answer to my questions about the nature of democracy and how to make it a lived reality. And fifty years later, with my own child in school, it seems that not much progress has been made. People appear to be just as uncertain about what democracy really means and how to make it work. Thus this book was born.
It seems to me that the practice of democracy cannot be taught as a course to which we answer questions on tests. It mainly is imparted by the examples of parents and teachers who take a genuine interest in youth and show faith in the ability of young people to come to their own conclusions so as to become responsible citizens. In the world outside the home and classroom, democracy is best modeled by leaders who emphasize the importance of each individual and are themselves examples about how to make the world a better place. Democracy is based on a faith that people can participate in their own self-governance and make it work. Engagement with others toward common understanding and action are what best prepares us for this task.
In today’s political climate – and perhaps in all political climates – there is a struggle between the best and the worst elements in humanity. By “best” I mean what has worked to serve and preserve the human race. The long-term success of any civilization depends on bringing the talents and abilities of the greatest number of people into play. This is best done in an environment that recognizes the dignity of every human being.
There are those who favor democracy and those who work against it in the families, schools, work situations, organizations, and governments that affect our daily lives. For those who believe in it, perhaps the most important question we should ask is: “What can we do to preserve and strengthen democracy amidst the forces that oppose it?”
For those of us fortunate enough to live under governments that we consider democratic, citizens vote for those who represent them. That is where participation ends for most of us. Around the time of national elections we start paying attention to the process of choosing our leaders. Yet we rarely demand that those who seek our votes show by word and deed how they intend to improve our world. Promising to change past or present practices is not enough.
The ability of governments to meet the needs of those they serve is based on developing and moving toward a shared vision, as well as working together on a path toward that vision. The vision of democracy is serving the needs of the greatest number of people possible. When we vote do we think about whether the views of candidates are in tune with democracy, or do we just cast our vote for those who seem the most aligned with our own views or those who are most confident?
I intend to trace how the thread of democracy has worked its way into and out of the lives of people and civilizations through time – from the distant past to the present. I don’t plan to reinvent the wheel, but hopefully to show how the wheel called democracy got rolling and how best to keep it moving forward as effectively as possible.
And as I will show, no matter how strong the forces of oppression have been, the wellsprings of human respect and dignity continually await an opportunity to re-emerge. But after these eruptions do occur, the result often is a return to the oppressive conditions they were intended to purge.
It is difficult to see the history we make as we create it. Stepping away and understanding the trends around us is a challenge. I am not the first to notice that history reveals its lessons in retrospect. Thus we might ask if there are any “grand themes” to history. This work can be seen as a view of the democratic element in our world over time and an exploration of its possible path forward.
Interspersed throughout Chapter I are mini-segments entitled “The World of Wine.” My friends know that I am a wine enthusiast. I also appreciate well-made beer and spirits. That said, one might wonder how I ever got this book written. A little more seriously: wine has been considered a true hallmark of civilization and congeniality throughout much of human history. It contributes to the democratic element in social settings – for at least as long as the party lasts! I have given examples of the importance of wine as a part of our political and personal heritage through time.
My project never could have gotten rolling without the help of my mentors, editors and friends who have supported me and provided feedback on how I could state my views with greater clarity and precision. Where I failed in that goal I have only myself to blame. Those who have supported this process have my undying gratitude, including Sharon Chelton, Terry Cullinane, Carol Delton, Aron Dunlap, Brooks Dyer, Steve Freedkin, Benjamin M. Friedman, Dennis Kaplan, Rob Katz, Ken Knabb, Robert Keohane, John MacDevitt, Ethel Murphy, Karen Ohlson, Deborah Pearl, Adina Sara, David Shiner, Lincoln Spector, Harold Stone, and Liz Wertheim.
I especially want to thank Professor Albert Dragstedt, who for years has led our little study group in a rediscovery of the classics and their application to our times and lives.
Democracy:
• A form of government in which people choose leaders by voting
• A country ruled by democracy
• An organization or situation in which everyone is treated equally and has equal rights
– MERRIAM-WEBSTER DICTIONARY
Introduction
Why another book on democracy? Many works have been written about the democratic process from the time of the ancient Greeks to the present. Wherever, and in whatever form it has existed, the establishment of a democratic government always has been a response to conditions seen as oppressive. To succeed in the long-term, every attempt at democracy must include a clear and viable path forward. Yet little has been written about what is needed to sustain such a path – from the efforts of individuals to the actions of nations.
Governments are not the only forms in which democracy can take place. Our personal relationships, families, schools, organizations, and institutions also can be workshops for democracy. In these places it can be practiced so that it eventually blossoms into full expression at the level of our nations. At its core, democracy is based on “the determination and longing to be treated with respect and some degree of consideration.”1
When