One of the favorite campaign tactics of American politicians is the ‘listening tour’. The candidate will set aside several days, perhaps even over a week, to return to his state or district and conduct a series of meetings with his or her constituents. Supposedly this will enable the voters to connect with the office holder, allowing them to give opinions and suggestions for their work in Congress.
However, most of these ‘listening tours’ are really public relations stunts. In many cases, the audiences are composed of the supporters of the candidate, and it has been known that certain attendees have been given questions to ask, questions that have allowed the politician to expound on his own ideas. Of course, there are news people in attendance, with cameras and recorders to capture the flavor of the occasion and boost the candidate’s stature in the state/district.
If the candidate really did listen instead of taking advantage of the press coverage, maybe policies would change as politicians take into account what the ordinary citizen believes should be done for America. If you cannot read between the lines, I really think these ‘listening tours’ are a waste of time and money as no change is ever really seen.
However, I propose a different kind of listening tour for all Americans. We have a rich history of statesmen who offered their beliefs about our nation. If we were to just sit back and allow these voices from the past to talk to us, if we really listened to those who have made America what we are today, maybe, just maybe the public discourse would be elevated from the bitter partisan divide we now have.
Our first listening post will be from the first President, George Washington. In 1796, Washington declined to seek a third term in office, thinking that it would foster a feeling of dynasty in American politics. However, in September of that year, he wrote what has been now dubbed his Farewell Address, advice to the young republic he felt needed to be said and heeded. As we listen to Washington, we hear first his strong feeling that partisan politics was wrong. What would he think if he saw the divide today? But at the end of this letter, he concluded that Americans would be far better off if we “avoid entangling alliances with foreign nations”, a direct reference to the problems we were having with the British, the French and the Spanish. To Washington, those alliances would only serve to draw us into foreign intrigues and wars.
We seem to have tuned out our first President’s words. Out of over 190 nations in the world, the United States has troops in more than 170 of them. Some contingents are small, but uniform wearing Americans are deployed in most of the places in the world, many of those places our citizens have never heard of. Many on the libertarian side of politics applauded President Trump’s decision to remove all troops from Afghanistan, thus officially ending more than 17 years of involvement in that country. But now, it seems, that the President has determined that a “small” number need to be there — 400 will remain. Perhaps it is time to again listen to wisdom from the past and act upon it!
Before he became President, Thomas Jefferson penned some of the most significant words in our founding documents. In the Declaration of Independence, he wrote that all are “endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness”. These lofty goals have part of our heritage and the beacon to the world of America’s greatness. But what have we deteriorated to in the 21st century? Since 1973, abortion on demand has become the law of the land, and since then more than 60 millionbabies have been aborted. In our day, laws have been passed and bills introduced into state legislatures that would allow an abortion to take place within minutes of birth, and in the case of a botched abortion where the baby is born alive, to terminate that life and call it abortion, not murder. Listen to the past words, and again go back to that basic right we all have, to life, even life in the womb.
Abraham Lincoln had a way with words, and many of his writings are part of the American legend and lore. In our listening tour, let us again hear the words of our 16th President as he gave his second inaugural address on March 4, 1865. The closing paragraph began, “with malice toward none, with charity for all”, an appeal to heal the breech between North and South, these words need to be heard again and again in our overheated rhetoric today. Hatred and vitriol are too often heard in the halls of Congress and in state houses across our land, and we need to again listen to the wisdom on Lincoln. We would be remiss in our listening tour if we did not give close heed to these needed words today.
Some of us can still remember John Kennedy’s inaugural address on January 20, 1961. Standing in front of the capitol building, Kennedy challenged those who heard his words to “ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country”. If only all Americans would really listen to these words today, what a difference it would make. It seems that every politician, every American is only interested in what would advance his or her own agenda, give to himself or herself whatever advantage he or she desires, without regard to the “greater good”. Again, words are hurled at enemies to defeat policies not perfectly aligned with what people want from their government, with only lip service about what the country really needs. Our listening tour must stop and take in those words, and put them into practice before we lose our unique position in the world’s pantheon of nations.
Martin Luther King, Jr., was one of the most inspiring speakers of the 20th century. Many of his speeches are masterpieces of poetic rhetoric, words which moved people to act on the principle of equality for all in America. From his speech in August 1963, these words need to be listened to again: “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.” In an age where many feel that racism is still with us, these words depict the “better angels of our nature” in Lincoln’s words. This stop on our listening tour needs to be heard again and again in our land to have a true color blind nation.
Our last stop on our tour is to hear Ronald Reagan, in a farewell address of his own, on January 11, 1989. His words were about America’s promise and reality in our world. “I have quoted John Winthrop’s words more than once on the campaign trail this year—for I believe that Americans in 1980 are every bit as committed to that vision of a shining “city on a hill,” as were those long ago settlers . . . These visitors to that city on the Potomac do not come as white or black, red or yellow; they are not Jews or Christians; conservatives or liberals; or Democrats or Republicans. They are Americans awed by what has gone before, proud of what for them is still… a shining city on a hill.” This vision is an inspiring one, one we all should be seeing as we see America. As a nation, we have seen mistakes made, but also we see a nation that has had no equal since the beginning of nations. Instead of bewailing the times we have failed, hearing these words again should inspire us to continue to make our country the “shining city on a hill” that Reagan spoke of.
Our past can be our future, if we will but listen to the wisdom found there.