In January of 1903, Sam McClure, the editor of McClure’s Magazine – one of the most widely read monthly periodicals in the country at that time – issued the following challenge:
“Capitalists, workingmen, politicians, citizens – all breaking the law, or letting it be broken. Who is left to uphold it? The lawyers? Some of the best lawyers in this country are hired, not to go into court to defend cases, but to advise corporations and business firms how they can get around the law without too great a risk of punishment. The judges? Too many of them so respect the laws that for some ‘error’ or quibble they restore to office and liberty men convicted on evidence overwhelmingly convincing to common sense. The churches? We know of one, an ancient and wealthy establishment, which had to be compelled by a Tammany hold-over health officer to put its tenements in sanitary condition. The colleges? They do not understand. There is no one left; none but all of us.”
None but all of us. At a time of staggering inequality, when robber-barons and crooked political cliques seemed to wield absolute control, McClure threw down a gauntlet – the American people needed to stop waiting for a savior and awaken to their own power to enact reform. Money trusts and party bosses would co-opt, confuse, or corrupt any attempts by institutional elites to alter the balance-of-power; but a groundswell of public action could shatter even the strongest cabal and shake America free from the oppressive grip of oligarchic power.
McClure’s call to action helped launch the Progressive Era and galvanized America to act as a force for justice at home and abroad. An activated American public compelled our political leaders to prioritize the national interest by broadening economic prosperity, expanding suffrage and creating an international rules-based system that remains the backbone for peace across the globe.
Yes, our efforts were flawed at times. From the violent suppression of African Americans to imperialistic misadventures abroad, the legacy of American activism in the 20th century includes its fair share of failings. But as we remember and examine the reasons for and consequences of such failures, we can still appreciate how through the concerted action of everyday Americans, to borrow from Martin Luther King Jr., our country did not just bend but forcefully re-cast the arc of the moral universe toward justice.
With such recognition we can see a playbook for the moment we find ourselves in now. The genius of American leadership in the 20th century was in fundamentally altering the balance of power so that government served the common good. We dramatically expanded the participation of everyday Americans in public service so that We the People became an engine that propelled the force and power of government toward truly national interests.
We broke up monopolies and brought people from across the country to work together toward the national interest by establishing the Departments of Labor and Commerce and the Works Progress Administration; we expanded the ranks of those who shaped our foreign affairs by integrating the military and creating new programs such as Voice of America and the Peace Corps; and we compelled government to better represent the people by expanding suffrage and moving to direct primaries and the popular election of senators.
A funny thing happened as more Americans joined together to serve: It worked. We launched an era of unprecedented advancement, enacted major civil rights legislation and formed civic clubs that strengthened communities for decades. We had political disagreements, but they were bounded by shared experiences, outlook and an underling faith in the decency of even distant strangers in other states.
Today it is clear we need the kind of fundamental course correction implemented in response to McClure’s 1903 publication.
We have infrastructure crying out for repair, record-low geographic mobility and large populations of underutilized prime-age workers. Let’s attack these problems by launching a modern-day WPA that puts people to work bringing 21st century transit, power and telecommunications to all corners of the country.
In global affairs we are adrift, lacking direction while autocratic regimes expand their influence. Let’s shock our foreign policy into action with a new Democracy Corps that sends young people to serve abroad supporting efforts to create free and fair election systems, independent judicial systems and protections for journalists.
In every policy realm our goal should be to engender greater participation by, and genuine empowerment of, the broad American public. It will be messy and at times chaotic, but beautiful and powerful in that we will re-discover the joy that is coming together with strangers to perform work worth doing in service to a shared community.
2018 can be the year we begin to march together again; serving in and making government the transformational agent so urgently needed to put its hands once more on the arc of the moral universe. Whether we seize this moment is up to none but all of us.
(Dan Vallone is a West Point graduate who served six years on active duty as an infantry officer. He lives in Concord.)