Daydream Nation: What Would You Do to Save American Democracy?

The Brennan Center for Justice at NYU Law School recently conducted an informal survey of several notable minds in which they asked participants what they would recommend our next president do to repair our democracy. One of my favorite responses is West Wing actor Bradley Whitford's suggestion that celebrities be allowed to park in handicapped spaces, but there is no shortage of well-thought out and informative recommendations to counter his humor. Several academics agree that the closing of Guantanamo and the repairing of America's system of checks and balances are among the most important first steps towards a restored and renewed democracy.

The prospect of publicly financed elections is another popular idea, though it is one which would require an overhaul of the hearts and minds of our Congressional representatives, and is probably next to impossible to achieve amidst the current political stalemate in America. It also might hurt the economy, according to Freakonomics author Stephen J. Dubner.

But, in my mind, there is no finer response in this survey than that of Heather Gerken, a professor at Yale Law:

If the president asked me to identify a reform proposal for fixing what ails our democracy, I would tell him that he is asking the wrong question. We already spend an inordinate amount of time thinking about what's wrong with our election system and how to fix it. The problem is that we are fighting reform battles on hostile terrain, and almost no one is thinking about how to change the terrain itself. Our focus should not be on end goals but on how to get from 'here to there' — how to create an environment in which reform can actually take root...

Rather than urge the president to fight the same fight in the vague hope that his proposal, unlike so many others, will take root, I would urge him to step back and think about how to create an environment that is more receptive to change generally. It is time to think less about end results and more about the institutional correctives and intermediary strategies that will help us get from 'here to there.' We have already spent a lot of time identifying the journey's end. Now is the time to figure out how to smooth the road that leads there.

My 'here to there' proposal might seem modest when compared to the goals typically articulated by reformers—rewriting campaign finance laws, a nonpartisan system for administering elections, redistricting reform. But proposals like these have been met with a deafening silence from voters and politicians. We know the basic outlines of the reform we need; we don't need a president to help us with that. What we need is an environment in which change can happen. That is where presidential vision and leadership can make a difference.

In other words, Ms. Gerken is explaining that to chart a reformed course for American democracy, we need a reformed strategy that abandons those tired methods which have been so unsuccessful for so long.

I remember being appalled by an article in Harpers Magazine by Ken Silverstein in which he went undercover to expose the subterfuge practiced by K-Street lobbyists, and their incestuous relationships with our political representatives. If you have the time, I recommend you read it here.

When I complained to my father after reading this article about the blind eye we Americans turn to the degree of blatant corruption and misguided ethics, he looked at me as though I were a child just discovering the true nature of Santa Clause, devastated by the harsh reality I simply avoided previously. "We live in the best country in the world," he said. "We can't be perfect."

My dad's response disappointed me greatly. After all, this is the man who always pointed out that the B+'s on his children's report cards were not A's. If we are content to settle with the current state of affairs, then we are no better than an underachieving student capable of far greater things. Or a celebrity willing to step on the rights of others in order to get a better parking spot.

CSN Why? Neil Young and the Power of Music

Somewhere Bono is crying. The whole "music can change the world" movement (yes, it still exists, if only in the hearts and minds of the innumerable, scraggly old hippies who roam the Denver streets like zombies) took another hit this week when Neil Young expressed his dismay over the limitations of music's ability to affect change.

Said Young: "I think that the time when music could change the world is past... I think the world today is a different place, and that it's time for science and physics and spirituality to make a difference in this world and to try to save the planet."

An odd set of statements given Young's history of topical songwriting, no? This is the man who wrote "Ohio" in protest of the Kent State shootings in 1970 and had it released to radio stations within a couple of days. He's also the guy who composed and released Living With War just a couple of years ago in response to what he saw as an unjust war.

And yet, a University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine study discussed last week in the New York Times claims that teenagers listen to music for almost two and a half hours a day. How is it, then, that music cannot change the world? That two and half hours a day is far more time than I spent with my parents on a daily basis as a teen. Of course, reading further into the study, we find that during that same two and a half hours of audio enjoyment, teens receive 35 substance abuse references every 60 minutes.

A few months ago, I spoke with rock critics Greg Kot and Jim DeRogatis about Rock 'n' Roll's ability to do good. I asked for their favorite example of a musician who might be a criminal if not for the music they learned to play.

In his response Kot said the following: "I think a lot of the best rock music was made by the middle class. Don’t you think? It’s the middle class people that are kind of thinking about the world. It's not necessarily that we’re saved by rock ‘n’ roll, I think that’s almost kind of a myth – 'My life was saved by rock ‘n’ roll.'"

Derogatis politely interrupted his counterpart, repeating, "It's not a myth. It is not a myth." When it was his turn to respond to the question, his answer was surprising, to say the least. "I think Kurt Cobain was a guy whose life was saved by rock ‘n’ roll," Derogatis said. "It may seem ironic given the way his life ended. But he was an incredibly smart and sensitive guy in backwater Aberdeen, Washington. You know, where going out and shooting a shotgun off, hopefully just at stop signs, but more often than not, at people you didn’t like, was a version of a nice time. And instead he discovered a world of ideas and brilliance."

As an often naive idealist, I'm with DeRogatis on this one, and Kot has Neil Young in his corner. The idea that a creative art form such as Rock 'n' Roll lacks the ability to change the world is a depressing one. But if a message as great and powerful as Martin Luther King's was accompanied by the music of the Staple Singers, why can't today's change agents utilize a vast stable of artists who are able to produce a noise that might make us think, make us question, and make us hope? Neil Young may have said one thing, but his actions tell us another: that he is a thoroughbred in that stable, and one whose music will continue to inspire long after he is gone.

Mini Reviews: Better Late Than Never

Eels – Useless Trinkets – B-sides, Soundtracks, Rarities, and Unreleased 1996-2006 (Geffen Records)

Most collections of unreleased material cater to the die-hards, but Useless Trinkets is as good an introduction to Mr. E’s music as any Eels album. Often delicately self-deprecating and optimistic within the confines of a single song, Eels mostly evoke the sunny side of life on these 50 tracks, particularly when employing Beck-esque funk rhythms.


Ghostface Killah – The Big Doe Rehab (The Island Def Jam Music Group)

For all intents and purposes, Big Doe Rehab is the third act in Ghostface’s Fishscale saga about the cottage industry of drug dealing. The original formula of classic soul-tinged production remains, but this fish is more raw than stale, and Ghostface’s attention to detail elevates his storytelling above any of his fellow Wu-Tang alums.

Rhymefest – Man in the Mirror (www.myspace.com/rhymefest)

This free mixtape by the third leg of Chicago’s holy rapper trinity isn’t exactly the “Michael Jackson dedication album” that Rhymefest claims, but it is a stellar example of this underappreciated MC’s abilities. And it does the unimaginable: it pokes fun at the gloved one while simultaneously making him relevant again.

Vampire Weekend – Vampire Weekend (XL)

Before Vampire Weekend stepped into a perfect storm of hype not seen on this side of the pond since the Strokes’ first record, they were just aimless ivy-leaguers like the rest of us. But this self-titled debut’s tropical pop tunes are so good that you can predict the coming forecast for album No. 2: 100% chance of backlash.