The Wall Street Journal has a new free online newsletter with a variety of opinion pieces. Ben Sasse is the former Republican Nebraska Senator who is terminally ill with stage four cancer, but still is functional. Former Senator Sasse announces terminal cancer. Below is his column about civility; hit the link for the full column.
American civics should be more like the Super Bowl.
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To be part of America’s social fabric is to show up—whether you’re a football obsessive or tuning in mostly for the commercials. Nobody checks credentials at a Super Bowl party door. A six pack and chips gets you in. Watch the game, enjoy the ads and complain about the halftime show. Fans and non-fans flock to the broadcast. In an era of fragmented media and hyper-personalization, that’s unusual. It speaks to something deep: Americans still want to be part of something together.
For a long time now, we’ve been losing that instinct in our civic life.
America runs on the First Amendment’s understanding that, because the human experience is messy and contested, we work through our disagreements with speech and argument. The whole point of America is that you can fight like hell on public policy or religion—with words—as long as you have the Constitution’s framework for ordered liberty.
The system begins to crumble, though, when we convince ourselves that since our opponents are willing to upend the Constitution, we better do it before they can. By giving ourselves a permission structure to run roughshod over the safeguards for individual liberty, Americans left and right erode public trust. The answer isn’t mutual destruction; it’s the celebration of limits on government power. Those limits constrain all sides. We shouldn’t pretend that the differences between Republicans and Democrats will hasten the apocalypse.
American politics work best when they accommodate more casual fans. Don’t mistake this for mushy middle indifference. American politics should be a place for citizens who care, show up, argue passionately about policy, but then keep on living life. Today, that approach is being crowded out by the perpetually enraged. There’s painfully little room left for those who believe that political life matters, but know that it isn’t the center of the universe.
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Once we frame politics as good vs. evil, total war will become the only acceptable posture.
The always-online are consumed by this nonsensical tantrum. Both sides are driven by self-soothing grievance and comfortable stories of decline. Both see America’s best days behind us. Both see greater consolidation of power as the only path forward.
Having politically obsessed weirdos running the show isn’t healthy. Not to mention they aren’t fun at parties.
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America would be a healthier place if we treated civics more like a Super Bowl party. Make it general admission. Open up more space for people who care but aren’t obsessed. Pick sides. Argue calls. Talk a little trash. Some diehards will show up with face paint, but they’ll always be a minority.
Next year, we can do it all over again.
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