Dan Glickman: Government is part of solution

I recently read an opinion piece by Frank Bruni in the New York Times in which he stated that America is “a country surrendering to a new identity and era, in which optimism is quaint and the frontier anything but endless.”

It takes a lot to get me down, but this hurt. The piece demonstrated, via polling data, that three-quarters of all Americans believe their children’s future will be less successful than their own present circumstances. These polls also showed that trust in any and all institutions – from government to military to religion – is at historic lows. In sum, Americans are not hopeful and don’t know where to turn.

Amazingly, I think that the much-maligned federal government, elements of which are still less popular than root canals, can be part of the solution to this problem and help our nation get back on the right track. The private sector and the faith-based community also have a role to play, but effective government action is a major factor for people to buy back into this country and start believing its best days are still ahead.

What we need from the federal government are two things: leadership and big ideas.

First, nothing can be accomplished or fixed without real leadership from the White House and Congress. Elected officials in these institutions need to understand that they are stewards of the country and their responsibility is not just to enact their respective agendas but to sell the idea of America, the dream of opportunity, to their own constituents.

President Roosevelt provided transcendent leadership in the Great Depression, as did President Reagan in the 1980s. President Obama has taken some action through executive orders, but real change in America can only be done by aggressively working with that separate but equal branch of government, the Congress.

Congress has the same basic problem as the president. Leaders in Congress need to have a more positive agenda. For the House Republican leadership, the question I would ask is: What is it that you would do differently to address the problems of Americans instead of what Democrats or Obama propose? I think the American people of all political persuasions are crying out for leadership and will reward those who answer that call.

Democrats in the House and Senate need to follow suit and show us a vision of a future we want to live in. Too often from both parties we hear how “the other party is dumb, the other party is fiscally irresponsible, the other party is anti-women.” I think it’s over the top to ascribe a diverse body of individuals as all one thing or another. But what this nation really needs are positive statements of action: “If elected we will pass this law, or we will build this or we will lead this country forward in this way.”

The best way to build optimism and trust is to demonstrate that sensible government can work on things that affect people’s lives. The architect Daniel Burnham put it this way: “Make no little plans; they have no magic to stir men’s blood.” A few big plans buttressed by committed leadership at all political levels can stem the rush toward pessimism into a landslide of American optimism.

This story was originally published September 6, 2014 at 7:01 PM with the headline "Dan Glickman: Government is part of solution."