Congress is where Americans are supposed to have our big, messy political fights. That's because the people who make the laws need to be hired and fired by the people. Don't like the laws? Fire the lawmakers.
Interpretation
Congress is the arena for political debate, reflecting democracy where citizens can hold lawmakers accountable.
In this quote, Ben Sasse emphasizes the role of Congress as a democratic platform for political contention among Americans. He suggests that the essence of democracy lies in the ability of citizens to influence their lawmakers through voting, with the power to change laws by either supporting or opposing those who create them. By framing political discourse as a necessary and sometimes chaotic process, he highlights the accountability that lawmakers have to their constituents.
In practice
During a public speech about voting, one might say, 'As Ben Sasse reminds us, Congress is where Americans are supposed to have our big, messy political fights.'
Among the responsibilities of each citizen in a participatory democracy is keeping ourselves sufficiently informed so that we can participate effectively, argue our positions honorably, and hopefully, forge sufficient consensus to understand each other and then to govern.
Becoming a reader grows our horizons, our appetite for the good, the true and the beautiful, and our empathy.
The health of our republic depends on shared principles like the First Amendment, but it is also built on the Teddy Roosevelt-like vigor of its citizens and local self-reliance.
Being stuck in adolescence - that's a hell. 'Peter Pan' is a dystopia, and we forget that. Neverland is a bad place to be.
Rising political tribalism, shamelessly exaggerating our opponents' claims or behavior, is leaving us vulnerable: No one loves America's internal fighting - and our increasingly siloed news consumption - more than Vladimir Putin.
Good history is good story-telling. And good story-telling demands empathy; it requires understanding different actors, differing motivations, competing goals.
The State is the altar of political freedom and, like the religious altar, it is maintained for the purpose of human sacrifice.
Our public life withers when only the most extreme voices get attention. Most of all, democracy breaks down when the average person feels their voice doesn't matter; that the system is rigged in favor of the rich or the powerful or some narrow interest.
Here is what the practical impact of Citizens United means. What Citizens United means is that corporations call hundreds of millions of dollars into television ads, radio ads, and other forms of advertising to defeat those candidates who stand up and take them on.
Unfortunately, you've grown up hearing voices that incessantly warn of government as nothing more than some separate, sinister entity that's at the root of all our problems. Some of these same voices also do their best to gum up the works. They'll warn that tyranny is always lurking just around the corner. You should reject these voices.
To announce that there must be no criticism of the president... is morally treasonable to the American public.
I pointed to an article with bold headlines reporting that the police had refused to allow the PAP to hold a rally at Empress Place, and then to the last paragraph where in small type it added the meeting would take place where we were now. I compared this with a prominent report about an SPA rally. This was flagrant bias.
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