The path forward

With the handoff of power from one president to another, we enter this new phase of our national life in deep distress. We are polarized, struggling to communicate reasonably with one another, and seemingly unable to find common ground on basic issues. Yet the path forward is neither new nor, really, difficult. We all know what needs to happen. We just need to do it.

To heal as a nation, we need to return to our traditional ways of doing business. We need to rediscover our skills at negotiation and compromise. We must rekindle our understanding that many people contribute to our progress as a nation. Perhaps more than anything, we need to reassure ourselves that we have the ability to solve our problems. We have done it in the past. We can do it again.

I count myself among those who believe that President Trump’s misconduct should not be ignored — that healthy democracies hold public officials accountable for their actions and do not just sweep them under the rug in the name of moving on. At the same time, we badly need to focus on the tasks of governing. And by “we,” I mean all of us. We each bear responsibility for making our own little corner of the country work. 

This means that we resolve our differences without resorting to violence or trying to overthrow the system. Instead, we need to work together to resolve our differences. We want our representatives to disagree on policy grounds — not because of where they live or what they look like — and then negotiate, legislate, and find a way forward.

The truth is, we cannot solve our problems without talking to each other — and talking and talking and talking. We need leaders who are skilled and experienced in the arts of compromise and consensus building. And we need citizens who expect their elected representatives — and the media they consume — to level with them, explain the facts, repudiate conspiracy theories, and illuminate workable policies for a complex, ever-changing country.

We face tough problems. Americans do not expect miracles, but they do expect their leaders to work together to solve them. That is how we move forward. We have a chance to revitalize our democracy by showing that it can work to improve the lives of all Americans, regardless of their beliefs. We have done it before. We can do it again.

Lee Hamilton is a Senior Advisor for the Indiana University Center on Representative Government; a Distinguished Scholar at the IU Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies; and a Professor of Practice at the IU O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs. He was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives for 34 years.