What Makes a Strong Democracy

I have no idea why the book By All Means Available was even on my Kindle. I didn’t know the author or the title, which didn’t attract me. The only aspect that might have interested me was that the author was in the special forces. As a former Marine, I still seem to be intrigued by that stuff.

The author, Michael G. Vickers, led a rather interesting life and career in the military, for government agencies, and even in the CIA. Toward the end of the book (published by Random House, 2023), the author, borrowing from a RAND Corporation study, presented a list of seven attributes necessary to preserve a strong democracy. Obviously, the author is concerned about the direction our country is taking. Here’s the list with my comments after.

1. A national ambition and will—A third of our country seems to be more interested in a theocracy, autocracy, or dictatorship.
2. A unified national identity—I keep asking myself, “Who are we?” I don’t like the answer I’m seeing.
3. Shared opportunities—I see too much of the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer.
4. An active state—So much of our activity seems to be leading us in a negative direction.
5. A learning and adaptive society—Our educational system leaves a lot to be desired, especially when politicians and the religious right think they are educators.
6. Effective institutions—Too many of our institutions are becoming bureaucratic nightmares. (See Congress, institutional churches, and the government.)
7. Competitive diversity—Why do so many people want to close our borders and promote a white fundamentalist Christian theocracy?

I found this list most provocative. I see it as a playbook of what we need to do to return to a strong flourishing democracy. Let me offer some ideas relating to the above list.

1. Both political parties and all faith-based organizations need to put our democracy first because until we do, political parties and religions will only be a barnacle on the ship of progress. I have visited five Communist countries (Russia, China, Vietnam, Cuba, and East Germany) as well as a few theocracies and dictatorships. None are very nice!
2. We already have the foundation stone for our national identity: liberty and justice for all. Let’s make it happen!
3. Every entity is only as strong as its weakest link. Guaranteeing liberty and justice allows for shared opportunities for all, even the weakest link.
4. An active state is achieved by a willingness to keep changing and being relevant to the current times. Too many institutions in our country—the institutional church being one—insist on living in the way past.
5. Civilization has never advanced as quickly as it has in my ninety-two years of life. Unfortunately, often we invent new technology that our society is not necessarily prepared to handle creatively. Artificial intelligence is an example: it’s a wonderful tool that needs to be regulated to make sure we use its positive traits, not its negative ones.
6. We hang on to too many institutions that no longer serve a useful purpose. My best example would be prisons now designed to cage and dehumanize prisoners. Our present incarceration system is totally ineffective and a disgrace to civilized people and our nation.
7. Why did the Supreme Court ever get rid of affirmative action and any opportunity for us to build a competitive and diverse society? A strong democracy is built on welcoming immigrants so that we can have competitive diversity.

Just some ideas. Any suggestions?

Peace Love Joy Hope Kindness (I’ve added “Kindness” to my signature, as suggested by a Jewish friend who exudes this trait)

Bil

Photo by Christian Lucas on Unsplash