"the future of freedom"

Part of the earlier rant deals with the sense of dissatisfaction with the current political environment which I believe is shared by many across the country. Not in an irresponsible, anarchical way, but from the fact that “the American people” are tired of the games, of the status quo, of a government (especially legislature and executive) that has continued to disappoint and underachieve.

Fareed Zakaria has a great little book titled “The Future of Freedom.” In it, he asks some very pointed questions, and in the tradition of Tocqueville, takes an open and honest look at some very “American” ideals that we take for granted w/o a second thought – democracy and liberty.

Here’s the leading question he poses, and I believe he gets close to what we are currently struggling with – both here at home, and across the globe:

“But what if liberty comes not from chaos but from some measure of order as well – not from unfettered, direct democracy but from regulated, representative democracy? What if, as in much of life, we need guides and constraints? And what if liberty is truly secure only when these guardrails are strong?”

And later he continues by qualifying – “To undertake a restoration is not to seek the return of an old order. We like the democratic changes that we have lived through and cherish their achievements. The goal is liberal democracy not as it was practiced in the nineteenth century but as it should be practiced in the twenty-first century. Democratic societies need new buffers and guides, designed for modern problems and times.”

The essential philosophical question that is both implied here and is more explicitly stated elsewhere in this book is this – can there be such a thing as “too much democracy”? I’m going to cheat and give you Zakaria’s answer – Yes.

Zakaria is NOT advocating for the end of democracy. And neither am I for that matter. But I earnestly believe in this concept of needing a restoration of balance in our political system. We need a press that is not only critical – but is discerning and responsible. We need religious organizations and groups that are actively engaged in society. We need a revitalization of both civic pride and activism – extending above and beyond corporate lobbying and wealthy neighborhoods fighting to create their own cities and counties.

These are the “buffers and guides,” in my opinion, that Zakaria is advocating for.

I’ll return to this later…