Published December 18, 2005 in the Hibbing Daily Tribune
By Aaron J. Brown
It’s easy to get caught up in the present. The words. The fights. The details. When you’re in a tough spot, a good rule is to take a look at the future and another at the past.
In America today, we’re in a tough spot. Economic trends remain strong, but American retirees face a coming crisis in Social Security. Major corporate pension plans are on the fast track to complete collapse. The federal government’s current budget deficits are unsustainable. American foreign policy faces increased scrutiny because of the war in Iraq. Everybody on the news seems especially angry and especially concerned for the future of our country.
Comparisons of the Iraq war to Vietnam seemed apt this week with the death of former Minnesota Sen. Eugene McCarthy. His strong anti-war message as a presidential candidate in 1968 caused President Lyndon Johnson to exit the race. McCarthy lost. In fact, the division he caused in the Democratic Party led to his party’s defeat that year and in many subsequent elections, perhaps even this last one.
But he was right.
A majority of Americans know that there is something wrong with our policy in Iraq. We’re all glad that Saddam Hussein is out of power and, by and large, everyone wants to see success in America’s Middle East efforts. But something is wrong and the Bush Administration is not being straight about it. Normally, that would be a good time for the opposition to step up. But the Democrats have been entirely unable to present a cohesive alternative. Pull out now? Pull out after this week’s elections are certified? Pull out when the Iraqi troops are ready?
No consistent opposing policy is available for review. Not for Iraq, and really not for anything else. I’ve heard more than one prominent Democrat say that such policies will be released sometime in the future. What’s wrong with now?
The Republican administration is ruining this country, and the fact that Democrats seem unable to respond troubles me. Last month, one Republican Congressman resigned after being caught taking outright bribes. Republican leaders in Congress, from Tom Delay to Bill Frist, are embroiled in some degree of political scandal. Pork projects seem to be thicker in the tiny print of the federal budget now than ever. The only thing Democrats seem to agree on is that they would handle things better. That’s just not good enough for voters to hand them the government. Recent polls indicate that most voters don’t trust either party.
An MSNBC story by Tom Curry published Dec. 5 suggests that this combination of events could pave the way for a third party in 2006 and beyond. Nowadays, third parties are usually dismissed. At no point in the life of your average American has a third party made a significant impact on the national political scene. There have been anomalies – Jesse Ventura’s win as Minnesota governor, Ross Perot’s strong showing in 1992, among others – but in the last 80 years no third party has stuck around for more than a couple election cycles.
What most people don’t know is that this country exists because of underground political movements. They had a two party system in England before the Revolutionary War. Both Whigs and Tories ignored the needs of the American colonists, so they rebelled. The Republican party of today was itself a third party back in the 1850s. Crucial to ending slavery, the GOP formed among dissatisfied factions of voters. In the early part of the 1900s, progressives from both the Democratic and Republican parties stopped the robber barons and won many of the basic workers’ rights we enjoy today.
The really big turning points in humankind happen not once a generation, but once every several generations. The people who participate in these historical events seem chosen to participate in them, rather than the other way around.
The more I see, the more I believe that this generation of Americans will decide our national future. Our current political parties and leadership structure seem unable to solve the problems of our day. They might get their act together, but I wouldn’t bet a paycheck on it. A third way – a new political movement to enact change – may become necessary.
Look at the past and look at the future. We citizens of the United States need to step up now, before history steps on us.
Aaron J. Brown is a columnist for the Hibbing Daily Tribune.