Whatever public frustration—or, worse, cynicism—that results from present gridlock in Washington does not reside beyond remedy. Americans have within the historic concept of citizenship any number of avenues to constructively shape political outcomes. Whether that happens or not may hinge on their readiness to try.
What constitutes good citizenship? Is it enough to simply obey the laws? To paraphrase a line from John Milton, do citizens also serve who merely stand and wait?
Not according to the ancient Greeks, who had some insights into self-governing ideals. And not according to America's founding leaders, who drew lessons from those same ancients. Both aspired to ever-progressing and just societies in which a sovereign people sanction those in public office to act on their behalf.
As a practical matter, participatory democracy takes many forms. Citizens may content themselves with a benign, but more passive approach, obeying the laws in the expectation that the laws will protect them.
But will passive, unengaged citizenship suffice to make democracy work better and break clear of the status quo? Certainly not.
As it has evolved from Athens to Williamsburg to the present day, the more participatory concept of citizenship entails a knowledgeable, vigorous and active people. The "right to have rights"—one classic definition of citizenship—combines with a duty to take part in the on-going work of self-government.
Of course, the active part may be more personally challenging, for no matter how informed your opinions may be, no matter how impassioned your commitment, you will soon find other informed, impassioned Americans with a different point of view.
But, then, it has always been so in American politics. While you need not prepare for battle to enter the role of "active" citizen, everyone benefits from preparation—including the political system itself.
As Harvard's Michael Sandel says, "The Revolution was itself born of anxiety about the loss of civic virtue, as a desperate attempt to stave off corruption and to realize republican ideals".
Early Americans took up the challenge, immersing themselves in the debate over the proposed structure and institutions of their fledgling nation. Their involvement would determine national success, they believed.
It may be no less so today. In the political marketplace, opinions often served as a commodity, readily available, inexpensively obtained and, too often, quite superficial. But knowledge—of democratic institutions, current issues, prior choices and alternatives—provides the fuel for effective and beneficial civic activity.
An informed citizen also better appreciates the inherent complexity of major public questions and alternative perspectives. As the old saying goes, where you stand in politics has a lot to do with where you sit. Understanding the view from seats other than your own can, in fact, pave the way toward persuasion—persuasion being the life blood of democracy.
An examination of America's founding figures—including those universally revered today—finds great variety of opinion and preference. Having Thomas Jefferson in the same room with Alexander Hamilton, for instance, would likely occasion a contentious division of opinion quite similar to the kind that mark today's frustrating political atmospherics.
And so it remains with American democracy in the early decades of the 21st century. A free, dynamic and diverse nation involves political viewpoints seldom easily reconciled.
But the quality of American citizenship can make a difference. Willing and courageous citizens—personally involved, with knowledge sufficient to command attention—brought America into being more than two centuries ago, and it will require citizens equally willing and courageous to carve the route from this point forward.
Campbell is president of the
Colonial Williamsburg Foundation