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Count on Instincts and Electoral College
Thursday, January 25, 2007(The Harwood Institute for Public Innovation)
Count on Instincts and Electoral College
by Richard C. Harwood
- philly.com,
November 16, 2000
The uncertain outcome
of the presidential election is a great
blessing on this nation. But what will we
choose to do with it?
As the drama has
drawn out, we have often put forth the worst of
ourselves. Shrill and zealous voices come from
all corners about how the nation is near
constitutional crisis. Given this rhetoric, you
might think the United States had never before
endured a trying time.
The candidates'
camps make veiled threats, puff themselves up
like G.I. Joes, as if they're playing a kid's
game of war. Consider this: They have even sent
two former U.S. secretaries of state to oversee
the battle of Florida. The news media continue
to sensationalize the story. And we find people
dumbfounded by ballot designs and charged over
the injustice of uncounted votes and recounts.
Amid the rancor and noise, can people hear what
one another are saying?
I have to come
discover that people hold deep aspirations for
a different, better kind of conduct in our
politics - among candidates, news media and
citizens. There is a yearning within America to
tap into these aspirations and usher them into
our public life.
The answers we so often
need are found within ourselves if only we are
willing to trust our instincts. Here are four
instincts I believe we must tap at this
time.
Forthrightness. The heated
rhetoric, sensationalism and posturing must
end. This is an election process, not a war,
not equivalent to civil rights battles of the
1960s, not a constitutional crisis in which the
country is about to implode, nor simply new
material for a television mini-series. Stop
these mind-numbing mischaracterizations. Step
forward and work out the challenges with
forthrightness.
Informed judgment. Too
often our current discussion of crucial issues
is superficial and guided by fleeting overnight
polls. If ballot design, the legality of
recounts or the fate of the Electoral College
are to be discussed, let us seize this moment
for a true, informed national
debate.
Reasonable expectations.
Recounts take time. The candidates and their
supporters will express great passion for their
cause. Discussions will get heated. We should
not be surprised and frightened by such turn of
events.
Our choice is whether we will
give ourselves the room for these processes and
passions to play out. There are cries to end
the entire situation now, as if we cannot
endure any longer. But by being reasonable
about what to expect in this kind of situation,
our nation cannot only endure but also
grow.
Affection for the nation. I define
this as an instinct, not out of calculation for
the national interest but rather out of
conscience, a gut check on our feelings for the
nation.
It's a constant call on our
consciences. When do intuition and common sense
tell us that a recount will do more harm than
good? When do our hearts remind us that serving
the demands of this or that party hurt the
whole? As different voter groups pursue
justice, when is it more about proving their
point than helping the nation decide an
election? When do media coverage and hype go
too far?
Not that anyone should
necessarily end these pursuits. It's how we
choose to draw the line. This country has faced
several points in history - slavery, for
example - when it looked as if the country was
coming apart. But at points of greatest
tension, we generally have propelled ourselves
forward. Our present situation is another such
challenge to come up with a mode of political
conduct that allows us to reason in the midst
of uncertainties and conflicts and do so with
grace.
That's why this tense election
has been a blessing in disguise: It's an
opportunity to further our nation to greatness.
Let us not squander this moment.