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Eighty years ago, Frank Capra gave us the iconic film Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, where a wholesome, patriotic scout leader is appointed to fill a seat in the U.S. Senate, only to find his ideals collide with a fortress of deceit, manipulation, boldfaced greed and corruption built by the heroes of his own party in Washington. Against all odds, and in the face of great professional peril, the lanky American Senator portrayed by a young Jimmy Stewart, uses the institutional rules of the Senate to filibuster and stand up for all that is right and good with America, until he collapses in utter exhaustion and despair.
The moral of this story has never been more urgent in our country. Today, too many members of our Congress, on both sides of the aisle, sit silent or quietly mumbling, their eyes fixed on their own political fortunes, while the President of the United States of America shreds our norms of political discourse, denigrates our most vital institutions, humiliates our allies abroad, scapegoats those who seek refuge in our land, gleefully divides our families and towns for political gain, and either blatantly or inadvertently commits acts of treason with an adversary who is leading a full frontal assault on the Western Liberal order. Meanwhile, we the people sit by and allow the media to drive us further apart by reporting opposing accounts of reality, in effect shepherding us into a culture of enmity and cruelty, aided and abetted by a small group of stealth corporate Libertarians who place tax breaks and profits ahead of all else.
Who will stem our descent?
It is important to note that in the climactic scene of the Capra film, the pure decency, courage and moral fortitude of one person, Senator Jefferson Smith, pierces the darkness and cynicism that has enveloped Washington, and shames the Senate into correcting itself and righting our country. Yes, this is Hollywood at it’s sappiest. But the film is also considered to be one of the greatest of all time, and was selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the United States National Film Registry in 1989, who deemed it "culturally, historically, and aesthetically significant".
So, where are our Senator Smiths today? Where are the political leaders who become compelled to put our country and constitution above their career and currency, and stem the tide of the winning-is-the-only-thing ethos that today threatens the life of our body politic? Who out there will be able to see beyond their own fortune and fame to be able to seize the extraordinary opportunity before them to become a legendary American hero? These leaders must arise from within the GOP or from the Blue Dog Democrats – for they must risk their own career in order for their courage not to be seen as mere pandering to their base.
And know that when you do stand up, when you do finally face this crucible, We will stand with you. Hordes of us. Every single American citizen who believes in the values enshrined in our Constitution and in our motto E Pluribus Unum (out of many, one), which celebrates the fact that that our diversity, our difference, is our best source of strength, will rise. You will be the leader we seek, and we will follow.
As many before us have said, “If not you, who? If not now, when?”
Peter T. Coleman is a professor at Columbia University and author of “The Five Percent: Finding Solutions to Seemingly Impossible Conflicts” (2011).
