I was first elected to Congress in 1964. That was the year Lyndon Johnson won a full term as president in a landslide. If ever a president had a popular mandate to pursue his goals, it was LBJ in the few years that followed that election.
Yet one of my strongest memories of him is not of a president reveling in partisan supremacy, but of his cautioning against it. Johnson used to love meeting with freshman members of Congress, and after taking office we Democrats who’d been elected along with him had every expectation that he would allow us to bask at the expense of our Republican colleagues. He didn’t. “I’m an American first,” he told us. “And I’m a Democrat second.”
It was a bracing affirmation of a quality essential to national leadership — a firm conviction that the good of the country comes first, even if it runs counter to the interests of one’s political party. I can’t help thinking of it today, in an era when deep, seemingly unbridgeable differences divide Democrats and Republicans, and when these divisions are being stoked by the current presidential campaign.
It has been apparent almost since the beginning that our nation’s welfare rides on how well political leaders balance the needs of the country against their partisan goals. In 1796, preparing to step down from the presidency, George Washington devoted much of his Farewell Address to this question, and to the destructiveness of what he called “the fury of party spirit.”
Surveying with alarm the regional discord and the growing hostility between Federalists and the Republicans that took hold in the final years of his second term, he set out to warn Americans that the very permanency of the Union depended on “a government for the whole.”
Other national leaders understood the sentiment. Patrick Henry’s famous statement, “United we stand, divided we fall” was followed by these words: “Let us not split into factions which must destroy that union upon which our existence hangs.” “We are all Republicans, we are all Federalists,” Thomas Jefferson said in his first inaugural address.
Each of these leaders signaled a bedrock belief in the importance of working together to bridge differences and find common ground because the nation’s welfare demanded it, regardless of the dictates of a party’s extremes.
Now, I’m not urging that we be naive. We’re not going to abolish parties, and we shouldn’t. They help us organize our political choices, define and advocate issues, and make sense of elections.
But if we’re not careful, they can be carried to such an extreme that they divide government, when what we need is unity of government. We need it in foreign affairs, where the more united we are as a nation, the stronger we are. And we need it in domestic policy, where excessive partisanship agitates the people and creates animosities among them. It leads to distrust within Congress, mistrust of Washington, weaker administration of government, and an inability to resolve the problems that press against our future. If you doubt any of this, just look around.
It is extraordinarily difficult to create a government that works together for the common good. One reason most presidents end up talking about the unity of the country and of government is because they, more than most of us, can see the centrifugal forces of region, ethnicity, religion, and ideology at work. They know that there is no magic formula for balancing them all.
But in this era of unforgiving partisanship, it is too easy to forget the importance of trying — and of working hard not to fan the flames of divisiveness. It is crucial to avoid painting the other side as un-American or eager to betray the national interest, just as it is to recognize that we have more in common than we have differences.
Our differences are important; they are part of who we are as a nation. But if we want to overcome our challenges and preserve our greatness, unity is indispensable. The great work of our democracy, as it has been for over 200 years, is learning how to reconcile the two.
Lee Hamilton is Director of the Center on Congress at Indiana University. He was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives for 34 years.
Flashpoint
FLASHPOINT: Shouldn’t we all be Americans first?
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FLASHPOINT: Legislative session reflected Hoosier priorities
The 2013 session of the Indiana General Assembly came to an end just a few weeks ago with the final passage of our state’s next two-year budget.
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FLASHPOINT: A legislative session of missed opportunities
Given the nature of politicians, grand claims of accomplishments and overblown rhetoric about “historic” efforts are to be expected at the close of any legislative session.
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FLASHPOINT: Again in 2013 General Assembly, middle class generally ignored
Last year, the people of Indiana entrusted the Republican Party with some of their most precious possessions.
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FLASHPOINT: Indiana lawmakers reinforced school safety mechanisms
Nothing is more important to me than the safety of my children. Every parent has felt that instant, apprehensive rush when their child plays too close to the street or falls down while playing soccer and it is our responsibility as parents to implement every safety mechanism we can muster to protect our kids.
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FLASHPOINT: Lessons from the legacy media — get it right, first
Enough mistakes and maybe we’ll learn: When in doubt, leave it out.
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FLASHPOINT: Hoosiers got steady hand in recent session
As the General Assembly began its work last November, as Speaker of the House, I pledged a renewed spirit of bipartisanship with legislators working together to solve our state’s most pressing challenges. As this year’s legislative session concludes, representatives from throughout the state — Republican and Democrat — have joined together to address those issues at the forefront of Hoosier minds: maintaining our state’s fiscal integrity, spurring job creation and expanding education opportunities for every Hoosier family.
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FLASHPOINT: Time has arrived for overhaul of TV news
Former FCC Chairman Alfred Sikes gave an address in 1992 in which he claimed television news was too superficial and too focused on visuals.
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FLASHPOINT: Fiscal cliff, Obamacare have already raised taxes enough
Our history is rich with stories of people who have immigrated to the United States for a chance at the American Dream. The American Dream, in its truest form, is the opportunity to achieve success by working hard and playing by the rules; to make it on your own and to say, “I earned this.”
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FLASHPOINT: Expanding Medicaid coverage makes sense for Indiana
Since last summer’s U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling on the Affordable Care Act effectively gave states the option to expand Medicaid, policymakers across the country have debated if and how to extend health programs to millions of uninsured Americans.
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FLASHPOINT: Improve public education, stop experimenting with it
In January, the four of us who serve as the Democrats on the House Education Committee outlined our hopes for the 2013 session of the Indiana General Assembly, particularly in joining with Superintendent of Public Instruction Glenda Ritz to offer common sense solutions to improve the quality of education for our children. With the halfway point of this session past us, we remain optimistic that positive steps can be taken … but that optimism is tempered by the reality that education policies are being directed by a legislative majority that has a radically different agenda.
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Healthcare law anniversary no reason for celebration
March 23 marked three years since the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act was signed into law, yet this is not an anniversary that deserves celebration.
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FLASHPOINT: Defending state’s authority is attorney general’s obligation
The law of the land recognizes the authority of states to license marriage.
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FLASHPOINT: Stability key for state’s future
Hoosiers have the unique luxury of being the fiscal envy of the nation due to the sound fiscal policies of the last eight years.
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FLASHPOINT: House budget offers Medicaid solution for Indiana
This week, my U.S. House Budget Committee colleagues and I introduced a federal budget resolution for fiscal year 2014. Our budget is a responsible plan that stops spending money and balances in 10 years — largely through making key reforms to drivers of our debt like Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security.
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FLASHPOINT: Problem gambling in Indiana: A new understanding of community concern
The week of March 3 was designated as National Problem Gambling Awareness Week.
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FLASHPOINT: Eastern time in Indiana defies common sense
Nobody complains more than Hoosiers about changing their clocks. And there’s a valid reason — daylight-savings time in Indiana’s Eastern Time Zone is painful.
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Praying for civil resolution to debate over gun control
Guns are lively ammunition for passionate debate these days.
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FLASHPOINT: It’s not too late to expand health services
This week, state leaders euthanized the biggest, boldest Hoosier jobs proposal of the 2013 session of the Indiana General Assembly.
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FLASHPOINT: You can’t go back again — and that’s OK
Our progressive colleagues have been telling us for years that the 1950s were a horrid time.
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FLASHPOINT: The fierce urgency of now — nation needs to protect youth
The alcohol-fueled alleged serial rape of a 16-year-old Ohio girl by two of her similarly impaired classmates — not to mention the drunken videotaped commentary of others — points yet again to the imperative that adult America renews its commitment to address as a true national community those issues that most threaten the health, safety and forward development of youth.
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FLASHPOINT: A pastor speaks out against Sullivan’s ‘traditional prom’
I am a pastor in Sullivan, Ind., and I am outraged.
Recently, two young students applied to walk the Grand March together in the school prom in Sullivan. -
FLASHPOINT: 0wning firearms is a First Amendment exercise, too
Following the hysteria generated by gun prohibitionists in the wake of the Sandy Hook tragedy, a nationwide rush on gun stores began as citizens bought semiautomatic modern sporting rifles, handguns and ammunition, in effect “making a political statement” about proposals to ban such firearms.
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FLASHPOINT: Maintaining the priority
Recently a newspaper article has been written about a change in the by-laws of the Indiana High School Athletic Association which speaks directly to attempted undue influence exerted upon students below the level of grade nine and their parents.
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FLASHPOINT: The fairness of marriage
What is the current Indiana law concerning marriage? Our state defines marriage in a singular way — between a man and a woman.
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FLASHPOINT: We ask state legislators to abide by their oath of office
All of us relish giving unsolicited advice to our elected representatives.
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FLASHPOINT: Mentoring is having major impact on public education
While managing local utility services, Mike Martin found a new way to energize his community, and students are starting to benefit.
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FLASHPOINT: Common Core standards should be common sense
Years ago, when state officials and education experts came together to create new model standards for schools, they probably never expected it to be controversial.
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FLASHPOINT: Milestone year for Rose-Hulman
The Rose-Hulman campus traditionally quiets down this time of year, yet for me I sense a renewed energy from the phenomenal year just closing.
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FLASHPOINT: ISU’s reasoning flawed in flight school planning
ISU and the taxpayers of Indiana and Vigo County are being led down a path of deception once again.
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FLASHPOINT: Incessant attacks on Christianity by the ACLU
It is obviously apparent that the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is continuing its onslaught against religious freedom in the United States.
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FLASHPOINT: Legislative session reflected Hoosier priorities
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