Navigating the Complexity of Democracy PERFECTING OUR UNION STARTS WITH SEEING OUR NEIGHBORS IN OURSELVES
“Indeed, it has been said that democracy is the worst form of government except for all those other forms that have been tried from time to time,” Winston Churchill, November 11, 1947. Democracy is messy, inefficient and often gets it wrong.
Democracy is hard work because, at its heart, democracy is people—people who come together to make their lives better, to pursue life, liberty and happiness more securely. And yet, our neighbors are people who may not look like us,
who don’t worship as we do, who celebrate diverse traditions and hold distinctive cultural values. Tis is who we are, it is who we’ve always been and it is the heartbeat that gives our democracy life. No “real” America exists beyond the extraordinary multitude of peoples who give her voice. It never has. We seem determined, though, to buy into the mythos that
there is a single correct way to be an American. Tat there was an ideal time when the United States embodied the promises made in the Constitution. Tat we have strayed from a more perfect union to a period of incivility and unrest. Tat we have rejected the wisdom of our forebears. But we have never been perfect, and we have rarely been
unified. Te Founders were simply men. Men who imagined a nation with enormous promise, but that promise remains unfulfilled. Unity requires community. Community demands that we recognize and respect each other’s humanity. And recognizing the humanity in each other, despite our differences, is essential to a flourishing democracy. Tis past year has challenged our democracy in profound
ways. A divisive election that led to violent insurrection, a global pandemic that too frequently brought out our worst selves, the
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devastation of gun violence, the bitter poison of racism. It is overwhelming, and it becomes easy to demonize those with whom we disagree. It becomes easy to dehumanize our fellow citizens and neighbors. I have struggled to remember this myself. It is tempting to draw the world in black and white. But gray is the color of democracy, and humility should instruct our impulses. Complexity is never comfortable, but it is constant. It demands a commitment to truth that may challenge deeply held beliefs. It asks us to be our best, most thoughtful selves, when our outrage-driven culture invites us to amplify our anxieties. I am grateful every day to find myself in a Queens
classroom where people from every walk of life come together in curiosity and respect. Where we are forced to see and hear each other, to navigate the complexity that democracy embodies. I am never more hopeful than when I am teaching because the classroom is a reminder of what we can be if we have the courage to try. It is a place where we can examine our assumptions about the world and each other, a place where we can lean into our discomfort, with dignity and good faith. Each of us has the power to perfect this union. It begins when we see our neighbors in ourselves.
Alexa Royden, Ph.D., is an associate professor and chair of the Department of Political Science and Sociology. She studies war, conflict and divided societies.
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