VOTE! By Whitney Farmer – Un Pop Culture

My Canadian-immigrant dad has been investigating how to vote in the election next Tuesday.  His sample ballot has checks, cross-outs, questions written in the margins, and coffee mug rings because it has sometimes doubled as a coaster while he carefully read through the contents.   After much thought, he has made some decisions which he allowed me to report to you.

After reading their profiles, I found myself thinking, “Why not?” Maybe Canada gets a bad rap — my own father stated that though the Queen is still at the wheel, their denomination is called the Looney. But my gentle and intellectual former-Canook pop might be making some powerful decisions. Rather than choosing those who are experienced in operating the government machine, perhaps there is wisdom in electing those who will represent and do the business of government who in fact REPRESENT. All of those he has chosen seem to be like my dad: contemplative, data-driven, and with good manners. These are forgotten but perfect characteristics to have in public service.  On a local level, when potentially epic public servants cut their teeth and learn the ropes, it’s an interesting formula to create a political incubator that has the geographic threat of neighborhood accountability as a fail-safe switch for the social experiment.

And my bookish father yearns for the day when academics will rule the world. His ballot is his contribution to that dream.

On a larger and state-level or national scale, the problems are more complex and — as much as I would like to argue otherwise — require formidable political skills, even if that person has never worn a political title.

It is a peculiar world to live in that requires layers of meaning in every conversation and frequent collaborations with enemies to accomplish moral ends. Very few creatures can thrive in this space. It is evident when these leaders are found through our elective process.  It is imperative that we find them newly or again each election.

We do not practice a pure form of democracy in America, but rather a hybrid that is a representative republic. The difference is important because our nation is a very big ship that takes tremendous time and effort to change course when it is heading in the wrong direction.  The “ICEBERG AHEAD!” shout can’t be sent quickly and efficiently to our entire population, so we elect those who we trust to make the smart moves even if we aren’t speaking with each other daily.  And we want to have someone lead us who is smarter than us, stronger than us, kinder than us, and braver than us. Some problems that confront modern leaders are so complex that they are beyond the grasp of the average citizen.  Put another way, we want someone better than us to lead us to something better.  But it is possible to lead the common person without being common.  I propose that accessibility and understanding of the average voter doesn’t require that the leader be average, ignorant, or common.  The higher the position, the more devastating these traits could be to our land. At this time, potential leaders are being given attention for positions of nation power who glory in ignorance, operate in arrogance, and give themselves permission to make our citizens look like fools by using self-deprecating humor when their incompetence is inescapable. It is appalling and increasingly dangerous. This is not a game.

One of the greatest democratic leaders in the history of human civilization was in fact one of its earliest proponents, and he was no fool. Pericles rose to power when the most common alternative form of government was monarchy backed up by an educated and wealthy monarchy and force of arms. Pericles built a democracy in the Golden Age of Athens when it perhaps would have been easier and more lucrative for him to silence and exploit the poor majority of citizens under his power. He himself was an aristocrat.  Instead, he allowed those without wealth or property to not only vote, but also run for office. He allowed those without means to attend the theater without being charged admission, allowing all to benefit from his directed investments of public funds that had been made in the arts, literature, and education.  And rather than accept that there were poor in his land, he gave them work through launching civic projects.  The most famous of these is the Acropolis with its crowning achievement, the Parthenon. (Why Keynesian Economic Policy is not called Pericledian is a mystery…) When his political opponents attempted to use the costs of this civic project to oust him from office and reassert the aristocracy, Pericles spoke with such eloquence that he became known as the First Citizen of Athens, even offering to finish the project with his own money if the will of the people had turned against the vision. Support rallied around him again, and the building continued, providing jobs and opportunities for those who had previously lived as uneducated serfs.  Built in less than 9 years, the Parthenon exhibits craftsmanship that to this day has not been replicated.  As difficult as democracy is to maintain, the contribution that a free people can make to a land is worth the challenges of representative governance.

Pericles had his difficulties. His opponents slandered him regularly, accusing him of giving aid to the vulnerable in the population at the expense of the state. His civic projects were declared to be wasteful, the aristocracy disenfranchised, his military engagements — despite victories — poorly strategized. The woman he loved, Aspasia, known to be a wise negotiator and brilliant conversationalist, was accused of using her abilities to corrupt the women of Athens to perversion for the benefit of Pericles.  In tears, he defended her honor before the city leaders.  Seeing a great man who had been driven to brokenness persuaded the authorities that this had been another game of dirty politics, and Aspasia was exonerated. Pericles would continue to lead — not rule — Athens for over forty years.  The work of democracy was never simple or easy, but it was worth the effort. Look at the Parthenon as evidence of this.

Over 2500 years later, there is nothing new under the sun.

Next Tuesday, vote. That biologist, engineer, or pilot might be the next Pericles.