Will Jeff Flake's Harvard Law Commencement Speech about the Decline of Government Standards Make a Difference?

Sen. Jeff Flake, US Senate Photo

Arizona Senator Jeff Flake, who is not running for reelection, gave the commencement address at Harvard University Law School. He delivered a blistering attack against President Donald Trump (without ever mentioning his name). Flake's theme was that the United States government is eroding the principles of our democracy. He is certainly correct. But do Mr. Trump's supporters care about what Jeff Flake thinks? More importantly, do they care deeply about the issues — compromise, respect, separation of powers, integrity — that Senator Flake discussed? Even more importantly, do Americans understand why Mr. Flake's points were so important?

Flake Talked about the Attack on Our American System of Government 

After humbly expressing gratitude at the invitation to speak, Flake discussed what he saw as the attack on the doctrine of separation of powers, which is central to our Constitution:

"I am here today as representative of a co-equal branch of our federal government — which is failing its constitutional obligations to counteract the power of the president, and in so doing is dishonoring itself — at a critical moment in the life of our nation."

Flake, in that statement, was referring to the reluctance of Republican leadership to offer serious criticism of President Donald Trump's behavior, even when that behavior seems inconsistent with traditional values. He is not alone; conservative columnist Jennifer Rubin has repeatedly complained about the same issue: but it is unclear that anyone in the Republican flock is listening. It is even more unclear that the Republican leadership is willing to challenge the president.

Flake complained about President Trump's recent television appearance, during which "a president of the United States publicly threatens — on Fox & Friends, historians will note — to interfere in the administration of justice."

As Flake continued, he complained about Mr. Trump's interference with the Russia investigation:

"And just this week, the President — offering an outlandish rationale, ordered an investigation into the investigation of the Russian attack on our electoral process — not to defend the country against further attacks, mind you, but to defend himself. Obviously, ordering investigations is not a legitimate use of presidential power."

On a positive note, Flake noted that our system of government requires compromise and respect for the other side. With respect to impending darkness, he mentioned the threat posed by "both nuclear weapons and Twitter." (I'll post more about Twitter rhetoric soon.)

What Do People Care about?

In his speech, Flake posed some important questions for voters to ask:

 
"— Do you believe in democracy, or not?
— Are you faithful to your country, or to your party?
— Are you loyal to the law and the Constitution, or to a man?
— Do you reflexively ascribe the worst motives to your opponents, but somehow deny, excuse, or endorse every repulsive thing your compatriot says, does or tweets?"

The heart of Senator Flake's speech, however, lay in these questions:

"Have we really grown tired of democracy? Are we watching its passing, cheered on by the America First crowd even as we cast aside global institutions that have fostered freedom, prosperity and peace for more than a half-century?"

These are real issues. They are important questions.

Political scientists have known for a long time that Americans have very little political knowledge. When I was actively teaching college, at a selective comprehensive university, I often asked my students, most of whom had advanced at the least to the sophomore level, and who had already taken a required course in American history or government, to name their representatives in Congress, the governor, or a member of the school board. Many of them had no clue. Very few could name two Senators from their state. I would be lucky to find even one student in a class who could name the three branches of government (legislative, judicial, and executive).  The first time I held mock political debates in my classes, most of my students turned out to have absolutely no idea what the Republican and Democratic parties stood for, even on the most basic issues. Students who thought they were Republicans argued in favor of Medicare, and students who thought they were Democrats argued in favor of aggressive policies in Iraq and Afghanistan. It was bizarre.

First Page of US Constitution

I quickly interrupted my class schedule to spend a week teaching my students about the Declaration of Independence, Constitution, and the Federalist Papers. It wasn't really my job; I was just a speech and debate teacher. But someone needed to do it. My lessons consisted mostly of putting important passages from those documents up on the projector screen and reading them aloud. This is material that any American should have learned in middle school. Some of my students admitted that they had been taught this material, but just forgot about it. Such is the state of America.

Quickly learning my lesson, I required students to research their political perspectives before the classroom debates. Even a few hours of research made a big difference in their political knowledge. Similarly, I have encountered professors who had no clue about the years of the presidential election cycle. If you think that people who had never attended college were better informed than my students and colleagues, well, think again. My students and colleagues were, sadly, the cream of the crop, information-wise. Yes, Americans really are poorly informed.

Flake's questions were very important, but I've been wondering whether we should blame our leaders, or the people who voted for leaders. It's not an easy question. Politicians respond to their voters, and voters align themselves with their leaders. Conservatives routinely use Twitter handles like "American Patriot" or "Patriotic Voter." Well, that's fine. But there is more to patriotism than waving the flag. To succeed, our nation needs voters who not only love our country, but who understand its history, heritage, and political philosophy. It is not so much that Americans are rejecting the philosophy that has made the United States strong and successful for hundreds of years. Instead, for the most part, people have no idea what the nation's history, heritage, and political philosophy are. This makes the voters vulnerable to hucksters and con artists.

As a retired professor, I would like to think that education is the key. If Americans know more about our traditions, they might start to care more about them. Am I wrong?


P.S. If any of my readers have not done so, I strongly recommending reading the entire United States Constitution. There really is no substitute for the real thing.

P.P.S. Extreme right-wing websites, including various hoax websites, have branded Senator Flake to be a traitor. Apparently, for too many people, loyalty to the president is more important than loyalty to the country. I blogged last year about Flake's retirement speech.

P.P.S. A few years ago, I published an article about conservatives' use of fake quotations from the Founders. The article is behind a paywall, but your local public library can probably get you access to it.