Edmund O. Schweitzer and Cornell Clayton: Recommitting to the better angels of our democracy

By Edmund O. Schweitzer and Cornell Clayton

As the United States approaches its 250th birthday, many Americans are taking stock of the values that have sustained our republic.

America feels different than the country we grew up in, and we worry that our democracy is fraying.

Anniversaries are also opportunities for renewal – for “We the People” to recommit to the values and practices that served us in difficult periods before.

From its earliest days, the American experiment rested not just on laws and formal institutions, but on shared norms of conduct: honesty, decency, self-restraint and a willingness to work through our inevitable differences.

Democracy and individual rights cannot flourish in isolation. They depend on habits of civility and mutual respect.

Few public servants embodied those virtues better than Tom Foley. He was our representative here in Eastern Washington for three decades, serving as Speaker of the House and later as U.S. ambassador to Japan.

Foley demonstrated that civility is not a political tactic but a governing principle. He understood that democracy depends not only on what leaders believe, but how they treat one another – and the public they serve.

In those days, that understanding crossed party lines. President Ronald Reagan reminded Americans that while citizens do not expect miracles from their leaders, they do expect good faith and cooperation. Other past leaders from former President Barack Obama to Vice President Mike Pence believe that democracy requires “heavy doses of civility,” quoting the latter.

These leaders often disagreed over policy, but they shared a commitment to constitutional principles: the separation of powers, rule of law, and respect for opposition parties and leaders. They viewed these principles not as obstacles to action, but as guardians of freedom.

Today, even invoking such figures provokes partisan reactions. Yet, beyond the labels, they demonstrated to us that democracy is sustained by listening and persuading – that we gain more from addition than division.

Our democracy and institutions are under stress. Individuals confront one another. Masked, militarized agents appear on city streets. We are taxed without representation, through tariffs issued by decree. Congress and the president can’t pass budgets, so we live hand to mouth from one continuing resolution to the next. Allies are alienated. Executive orders outpace deliberation and due process. America is better than this.

As the director of the Foley Institute at Washington State University and the founder of Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories – both based in Pullman – we have seen the power of civic engagement grounded in mutual respect. SEL believes in doing business the way our mothers would want us to. The Foley Institute honors leaders of both parties who govern with decency, restraint and understand the sacred trust of public office.

Americans are hungry to return to fundamentals. Tired of political theater and unending conflict, we yearn for leaders who listen, tell the truth, disagree without condemning, and who seek enduring solutions through compromise and finding common-ground.

Recent acts of political violence – from the chaos in Minneapolis, to attacks on public officials, to disruptions at town halls – underscore what’s at stake.

Each of us bears responsibility for resisting this toxic political culture and restoring our republic … in Benjamin Franklin’s words, “if you can keep it.”

We can choose to speak with care, listen with curiosity, and remember that our political opponents are fellow citizens sharing a common republic. Abraham Lincoln reminded the nation during a far graver crisis, “We are not enemies, but friends … Though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection.” The “better angels of our nature,” he said, can guide us if allowed.

American democracy has strayed before, and each time recovered by returning to its first principles and embracing the habits of thought that sustain a free society.

As we celebrate 250 years, now is the time to recommit to civility and our roots, to find again the better angels of our democracy.

Edmund O. Schweitzer is founder of Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories, headquartered in Pullman. Cornell Clayton is C.O. Johnson Distinguished Professor and director of the Thomas S. Foley Institute at WSU.