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.