Dear Mr. President - Address the democracy shortage

Address the democracy shortage

BY JOSH KORNBLUTH ’80

It is well known that during most of President George W. Bush’s tenure, the United States has been exporting its democracy to countries around the world. While there can be no doubt that this policy has been motivated by pure altruism, the time has come for us to be a bit more selfish about how and where we allocate our greatest national invention. The peoples of the Middle East and other regions have been receiving enormous infusions of American democracy for long enough that they should be ready to begin producing their own, home-grown democracies; there are even reports of a democracy surplus in Iraq! At the same time, here at home our democracy levels — severely depleted by the recent election — are dangerously low.

If this trend continues, we will find ourselves in an unprecedented situation: America will be forced to become a net importer of democracy. This would be a national shame, and I respectfully urge President Obama to address the impending domestic democracy shortage by taking the following bold steps:

1. Draw on our vast underground reserves. There is an ocean of untapped democracy that we have yet to make use of. Much of it lies beneath the surface of our culture, hidden by a gaudy blanket of consumerism. Drill, baby, drill!

2. Think outside the ballot box. While most of our democratic energy has been poured into elections, at other times our overall capacity has been severely underutilized. Encourage the daily generation of democracy at the grassroots level.

3. Promote sustainable democracy by 2050. The above suggestions, though necessary, are stopgap at best. Ultimately, to survive the democratic shortages that will inevitably arise from time to time, Americans must learn to conserve. Let us target 2050 as the year by which we will have reduced America’s “civic footprint” to a size commensurate with our share of the planet’s total population. Yes, we can!


Josh Kornbluth ’80 (joshkornbluth.com) writes and performs comedic monologues and is the author of one book, Red Diaper Baby, a collection of three monologues. To see a clip from his “Citizen Josh” monologue, go to paw.princeton.edu.