September 10, 2009

• “the danger of too much government is matched by the perils of too little”

  Honestly there was a lot I did not like about President Obama’s address to Congress last night. There’s much that I disagree with him about. And I’ll write about those parts soon too.  But the end of Obama’s speech was pure genius and should be praised.

  He made the case for something more fundamental and more important than the outcome of this particular health care debate. He argued that skepticism of government is needed and has a place in our history, but so is our use of that government to improve our state, to make the lives of ourselves and others better. He called it our “large-heartedness”. He said it’s a part of the “American character”:

  “It, too, is part of the American character — our ability to stand in other people’s shoes; a recognition that we are all in this together, and when fortune turns against one of us, others are there to lend a helping hand; a belief that in this country, hard work and responsibility should be rewarded by some measure of security and fair play; and an acknowledgment that sometimes government has to step in to help deliver on that promise. “

  He also spoke of the political motive. The desire to kick the can down the line. The fact that minimal changes are always politically expedient, easier and safer. Yet he rejected the concept and argued that doing nothing is to give in to fear and the lose faith in ourselves.

  “Everyone in this room knows what will happen if we do nothing. Our deficit will grow. More families will go bankrupt. More businesses will close. More Americans will lose their coverage when they are sick and need it the most. And more will die as a result. We know these things to be true. “

  “I understand that the politically safe move would be to kick the can further down the road — to defer reform one more year, or one more election, or one more term.

  But that is not what the moment calls for. That’s not what we came here to do. We did not come to fear the future. We came here to shape it. I still believe we can act even when it’s hard. I still believe — I still believe that we can act when it’s hard. I still believe we can replace acrimony with civility, and gridlock with progress. I still believe we can do great things, and that here and now we will meet history’s test.”

  “We did not come to fear the future. We came here to shape it. “

  Remember that line. It should be etched onto the walls of every congressman and government official’s office.

  The President also gave a history lesson, albeit a short one, that we should all listen to and learn from, about the triumphs of government intervention. About the times when, in spite of all our much deserved skepticism it was thanks to our government that good was done. Changes were made and “we are better for it”.

  “In 1935, when over half of our seniors could not support themselves and millions had seen their savings wiped away, there were those who argued that Social Security would lead to socialism, but the men and women of Congress stood fast, and we are all the better for it. In 1965, when some argued that Medicare represented a government takeover of health care, members of Congress — Democrats and Republicans — did not back down. They joined together so that all of us could enter our golden years with some basic peace of mind. “

  Lastly and most importantly, the President denounced the idea that government is simply inherently incompetent and scorn worthy. He attacked the idea of throwing fact and reason out the window simply the denounce everyone who struggles to do good as “un-American”, arguing that that line of thinking ultimately enfeebles us. He argues that previous leaders in our governments knew this, but somehow today we’ve lost our way.

  “And they knew that when any government measure, no matter how carefully crafted or beneficial, is subject to scorn; when any efforts to help people in need are attacked as un-American; when facts and reason are thrown overboard and only timidity passes for wisdom, and we can no longer even engage in a civil conversation with each other over the things that truly matter — that at that point we don’t merely lose our capacity to solve big challenges. We lose something essential about ourselves. “

  Whatever and however this debate turns out, I’m glad the President said these things. I’m glad he made the case that Government CAN do good. That Government CAN help people. That our legislators and leaders aren’t simply twiddling their thumbs or worse engaged in a secret plot to screw everyone.

  But in there lies also what I feel is the deepest disappointment of the speech. He was speaking to Congress. But he should have been speaking more to the American people.

  It is important to know that government is not inherently naturally impotent or evil. But it’s also equally important to know that it can be both. And that the only thing standing in the way of it becoming both is US. It’s you and me.

  I wish the President had called upon us to force Congress and his administration to do what’s best. I wish he had argued that in so far as he and Congress are able to do what administrations have done in the past and make lives for everyone better, it depends on the people to fight for it, and to demand of them that they be their best possible selves.

  In any case the end of the speech was very good. It’s just rhetoric sure. But words do matter. They do change minds and capture hearts. It remains to be seen what impact this rhetoric will have.

  Here is the end part of the President’s speech reproduced for those who didn’t get a chance to catch it:

  “But know this: I will not waste time with those who have made the calculation that it’s better politics to kill this plan than to improve it. I won’t stand by while the special interests use the same old tactics to keep things exactly the way they are. If you misrepresent what’s in this plan, we will call you out. And I will not — and I will not accept the status quo as a solution. Not this time. Not now.

  Everyone in this room knows what will happen if we do nothing. Our deficit will grow. More families will go bankrupt. More businesses will close. More Americans will lose their coverage when they are sick and need it the most. And more will die as a result. We know these things to be true.

  That is why we cannot fail. Because there are too many Americans counting on us to succeed — the ones who suffer silently, and the ones who shared their stories with us at town halls, in e-mails, and in letters.

  I received one of those letters a few days ago. It was from our beloved friend and colleague, Ted Kennedy. He had written it back in May, shortly after he was told that his illness was terminal. He asked that it be delivered upon his death.

  In it, he spoke about what a happy time his last months were, thanks to the love and support of family and friends, his wife, Vicki, his amazing children, who are all here tonight. And he expressed confidence that this would be the year that health care reform — “that great unfinished business of our society,” he called it — would finally pass. He repeated the truth that health care is decisive for our future prosperity, but he also reminded me that “it concerns more than material things.” “What we face,” he wrote, “is above all a moral issue; at stake are not just the details of policy, but fundamental principles of social justice and the character of our country.”

  I’ve thought about that phrase quite a bit in recent days — the character of our country. One of the unique and wonderful things about America has always been our self-reliance, our rugged individualism, our fierce defense of freedom and our healthy skepticism of government. And figuring out the appropriate size and role of government has always been a source of rigorous and, yes, sometimes angry debate. That’s our history.

  For some of Ted Kennedy’s critics, his brand of liberalism represented an affront to American liberty. In their minds, his passion for universal health care was nothing more than a passion for big government.

  But those of us who knew Teddy and worked with him here — people of both parties — know that what drove him was something more. His friend Orrin Hatch — he knows that. They worked together to provide children with health insurance. His friend John McCain knows that. They worked together on a Patient’s Bill of Rights. His friend Chuck Grassley knows that. They worked together to provide health care to children with disabilities.

  On issues like these, Ted Kennedy’s passion was born not of some rigid ideology, but of his own experience. It was the experience of having two children stricken with cancer. He never forgot the sheer terror and helplessness that any parent feels when a child is badly sick. And he was able to imagine what it must be like for those without insurance, what it would be like to have to say to a wife or a child or an aging parent, there is something that could make you better, but I just can’t afford it.

  That large-heartedness — that concern and regard for the plight of others — is not a partisan feeling. It’s not a Republican or a Democratic feeling. It, too, is part of the American character — our ability to stand in other people’s shoes; a recognition that we are all in this together, and when fortune turns against one of us, others are there to lend a helping hand; a belief that in this country, hard work and responsibility should be rewarded by some measure of security and fair play; and an acknowledgment that sometimes government has to step in to help deliver on that promise.

  This has always been the history of our progress. In 1935, when over half of our seniors could not support themselves and millions had seen their savings wiped away, there were those who argued that Social Security would lead to socialism, but the men and women of Congress stood fast, and we are all the better for it. In 1965, when some argued that Medicare represented a government takeover of health care, members of Congress — Democrats and Republicans — did not back down. They joined together so that all of us could enter our golden years with some basic peace of mind.

  You see, our predecessors understood that government could not, and should not, solve every problem. They understood that there are instances when the gains in security from government action are not worth the added constraints on our freedom. But they also understood that the danger of too much government is matched by the perils of too little; that without the leavening hand of wise policy, markets can crash, monopolies can stifle competition, the vulnerable can be exploited. And they knew that when any government measure, no matter how carefully crafted or beneficial, is subject to scorn; when any efforts to help people in need are attacked as un-American; when facts and reason are thrown overboard and only timidity passes for wisdom, and we can no longer even engage in a civil conversation with each other over the things that truly matter — that at that point we don’t merely lose our capacity to solve big challenges. We lose something essential about ourselves.

  That was true then. It remains true today. I understand how difficult this health care debate has been. I know that many in this country are deeply skeptical that government is looking out for them. I understand that the politically safe move would be to kick the can further down the road — to defer reform one more year, or one more election, or one more term.

  But that is not what the moment calls for. That’s not what we came here to do. We did not come to fear the future. We came here to shape it. I still believe we can act even when it’s hard.  I still believe — I still believe that we can act when it’s hard. I still believe we can replace acrimony with civility, and gridlock with progress. I still believe we can do great things, and that here and now we will meet history’s test.

  Because that’s who we are. That is our calling. That is our character. Thank you, God bless you, and may God bless the United States of America.

  • 12:34 pm
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