Democracy's a tough sport. Let's play like pros.
To get the country back on track, we'll need to build some simple but powerful skills
Hey there! Hope your holiday season is shaping up well. I’m looking forward to spending time with family for Christmas, despite the emotional task of laying my father to rest in a few weeks. This has been a time of transition and loss in so many ways, and I’ve spent a lot of time planning a turnaround in 2026. Things are falling into place, and every day I feel more passionate about the year to come. The essay below is part of that passion: an idea that might help clarify what I hope to foster. Let me know what you think.
By the way, many thanks to everyone who voted in the poll for my debate project’s logo! You’ve helped me narrow it down to 3 choices. Whether you voted before or not, please take a look and share your feedback. The poll takes 60 seconds, and it’ll clarify my thinking on which logo to choose.
And now, here’s what’s been on my mind…
THE CIVIC ATHLETE
We’ve heard a lot about how Americans are physically weaker than they used to be: obesity, diabetes, heart disease, cancer rates, infertility, etc. But there’s another weakness that’s just as big a threat to the nation.
Americans are also civically weak. We’re fragile citizens.
Today social media has exploited our inability to digest facts and knowledge like we used to. We’ve been fed a lot of informational junk food: delicious and satisfying, preventing us from nourishing our minds with healthy sources of news. The 24-hour firehose of “content” overwhelms us so much that we can barely take another bite.
When we do get something reliable and nutritious, our systems struggle to accept it, and many of us throw it up as if it’s toxic. Eventually, we become like the rats that the bad guy talked about in the movie Skyfall: social engineering has changed our nature. We are repulsed by intellectual nourishment, so we’d rather eat each other alive.
We used to drop knowledge. Now we infodump. No wonder we hate this timeline.
Everyone knows how to argue. Do you know how to win?
The vision of our founding fathers was far from perfect – that’s why the Constitution is amendable – but they probably presumed that we would never weaken to the point where we were ungovernable. Town halls, public squares, free speech corners like New York’s Union Square and Chicago’s Washington Square Park (what they used to derisively call Bughouse Square), colleges & universities, civic groups… everyday people had places to practice active citizenship as they would practice any sport. Everyone didn’t have equal access to those places, no doubt, but because we had the means to influence and convince one another regularly, things got done. Very imperfectly, but things moved.
And now, nationally speaking, very little is getting done. And we act like we don’t know why… because most of us don’t. No problem, though: America’s gonna fix itself if we just wait a little bit longer, right? It’ll happen someday.
…Right?
Many of the masses may choose to go through life with their fingers crossed. I want better for myself, and I suspect you do too. I choose to build not just knowledge, but the skills to use it impactfully. Many political leaders are just barely sharper than the masses: just enough to influence the gullible and win their votes, viewership or dollars without too much effort. No sense blaming the masses: most of us were never taught how to defend against this kind of corruption. Besides, blame wouldn’t do any good.
But imagine how much harder those charlatans would have to work if we made it our business to be stronger than the weaklings preying on the innocent. Imagine if we stood up to idiocy and illogic, thoroughly capable of defeating half-baked, presumptuous & deceptive arguments and – here’s the key – to do it publicly. That way, our friends and neighbors could be freed from disinformation and think for themselves. Democracies work best when the people are as smart as their governments. In the end, the smartest, savviest side gets control.
This is not about arguing. Everyone knows how to argue. Do you know how to win?
The alternative is what we’re seeing now: a descending spiral of demonization and dehumanization. We used to fear speaking our minds because we might get cancelled. Now we’re increasingly afraid that we might get attacked, either by other people or by our government. Political correctness didn’t fix things, but neither will political violence. Right now, I’d settle for political competence.
I dream of an America where people can argue usefully and come away feeling like they’ve gained something. And catharsis isn’t enough of a payoff: watching NewsNight on CNN and delighting at seeing Scott Jennings get schooled does absolutely nothing to improve your life. Why give people that much time if they only give back entertainment? Especially when they have no interest in making you as strong as they are… or stronger?
The stardom and status of today’s political pundits depends on keeping you in your place. Contrast that to the young baller who joins the NBA because LeBron James inspired him. I bet LeBron would celebrate that young man’s success even as he prepared to compete against him. LeBron makes money, and NBA rookies make money too (albeit much less).
Time to raise the game.
Every piece of your skill set advances your entire life – your ability to make the case for a better job or a raise, your capacity to raise your kids as you see fit, your bond with your loved ones, your authority in government, even just your odds of buying your next car at the price you want. Your skills will make a place for you, if they’re strong enough. And lifting myself up doesn’t require me to hold you down. That includes the skill of citizenship: having the awareness, the persuasive ability, and the civic knowledge to make a positive impact on this democracy, no matter who you are.
That’s the skill we all need: persuasion. Change happens little by little, and big results accumulate from small moments of influence. Knowledge is not enough to persuade: you also have to know how to present what you know in a way that others connect with. It’s not easy, but anyone can learn.
Contrast that with the skills that get pundits on-air. Would any cable news host or overconfident podcaster really share their skills with you? They’d never welcome more competition in an industry that’s fighting for its life. Nor would they risk looking bad in front of some newcomer that’s got more skills than they have.
I’ve worked with some great people in broadcasting, but the system in which they operate is not designed to embrace the average person. Just watch, and keep watching. Fortunately, building civic skills can take much less time and effort than getting on CNN or joining the NBA.
My goal is to make doing so as much fun as Game Night with your friends. Imagine, building serious skills by doing something fun. You don’t have to get a masters degree or work on Capitol Hill or rub elbows with media execs to get savvier: you can do it on your own, with people like you.
If we want better leaders, we must become our best selves. There’s no point in scanning the horizon hoping the next MLK shows up. This game is for us to win. Democracy is a sport that anyone can play, but thankfully we only need a few pros to set the standard. Few can’t be in the NBA, but everyone can look up to Jordan and Magic and Kobe and LeBron. The presence of the pros raises the game. We don’t have much of that in today’s politics… but you deserve it.
To get it, we need more civic athletes, and spaces for them to train so they build their strength. My vision is for an America where we are not just citizens of this democracy, but fans of it. Who will be the new generation of star players? Who will give their friends, families and fellow citizens something new to be proud of? And will the rest of us learn the game anew, so we can tell the pros from the schmos and demand the best?
Someone tell the old guard: we got next. It’s our time now. Time to raise the game.
It’s time to stop arguing… and start winning.
Thanks for reading, and please vote on the new logo! It only takes 60 seconds.
Here’s the link:
https://forms.gle/bv7Za7Q8P8YAxUje9