Statesmanship vs. politics

In searching for the writing of others on “stewardship in government,” I found an interesting statement on a website for Todd Long, a Republican candidate for Congress in the Florida 8th Congressional District: “A politician thinks about the next election. A statesman thinks about the next generation.” I don’t know Mr. Long, but I wish I’d come up with that one myself.

The short-sighted activities of current politicians have created a house of cards for our posterity. In particular, the unsustainable levels of spending and national consumption are largely due to an attitude amongst our leaders that to ask the people to sacrifice for tomorrow is unpopular and will only result in being sent home. Such thinking isn’t leadership at all.

While we ask our armed forces and their families to make sacrifices (for some the ultimate sacrifice) in a time of war, we the citizens at home have not been asked to sacrifice anything for the war effort or otherwise. It doesn’t appear that our government has the fortitude to ask the people to sacrifice for the war and much less so for the future generations by reforming entitlement programs such as Social Security and Medicare or proposing solutions on health care or energy policy which may be controversial even within their own parties.

These issues require leadership. Leadership requires statesmanship. I echo the question I hear so many ask, “Where have all the statesmen gone?” Currently, it seems that those who hold high office seek only to denigrate the members of the opposing party in an effort to “rouse the base,” rather than work collaboratively on solutions to issues that determine the fate of our nation for the next generation. We need statesmen who build credibility by clearly communicating the issues and calling on constituents to make necessary sacrifices rather than holding on to power at all costs by pretending that pressing issues will fix themselves simply by maintaining the status quo.

In 2007, I attended the South Carolina GOP’s annual Silver Elephant Dinner at which Sean Hannity of Fox News was the keynote speaker. A significant amount of the time was spent on what I’ll call “Clinton humor.” It occurred to me as Mr. Hannity spoke that as Republicans we had lost the initiative as the party of ideas and had instead become the anti-Democrat party. I’m certainly not suggesting that Democrats are any more pure in their rhetorical attacks against Republicans. Both parties have lost any sense of magnanimity. Solutions don’t come out of rhetorical statements against the other party. Even though there are those who enjoy the “red meat” of politics, we cannot afford the cynicism that these acerbic partisan rants breed in the electorate if we are to inspire the nation to make sacrifices as stewards of the blessings of Liberty for posterity.

Theodore Roosevelt once said, "It is character that counts in a nation as in a man." My hope is that we can find statesmen and leaders who have the character to ask the nation to stand on its.