President Obama's Politics of Dignity

America is broken. Even if we pull through the current economic crisis, recovery won't last absent an overhaul of our primary institutions.

• One out of ten Americans is now unemployed and the recovery is expected to be jobless.
• Fifty million Americans have no health insurance; two million, no home.
• Two million Americans are in jail.
• Our public schools have fallen behind those of most developed nations.
• Higher education is priced out of reach of the middle class.
• Our infrastructure is in an advanced state of disrepair.
• We rank first in greenhouse gas emissions.
• Immigration, once our pride, is now our shame.
• We're living on credit and leaving the debt to our children.

The crisis is compounded by corruption of the democratic process. Politicians who owe their seats to private and corporate money are not easily persuaded to put the public interest over the special interests of their benefactors.

If our predicament were one in which there was an emergent consensus about the proper remedy, President Obama might be able to orchestrate an epochal makeover -- as President Johnson did in the civil rights crisis. Most Americans knew then that African-Americans were victims of racism and that segregation was wrong. But today, reformers are themselves divided and many of the issues are of such complexity as to defy broad public comprehension.

Despite his formidable rhetorical gifts, President Obama has yet to tell us how to repair our broken institutions. But he may be doing something equally important. He may be showing us the way. America's problems run deep, and solutions will have to be grounded in a new politics--the politics of dignity.

President Obama is a herald of the politics of dignity. He's an instinctive dignitarian. Not libertarian, not egalitarian. Dignitarian. It matters not when and how he acquired his dignitarian manner, or that he may not conform to it one hundred percent of the time. What matters is that in his personal relations and political positions he sets an example of respecting human dignity, regardless of role or rank.

It was Obama's inclusiveness that first brought him to national attention. As the keynote speaker of the 2004 Democratic National Convention, then Illinois State Senator Obama struck a dignitarian note. In asking us to see ourselves not as citizens of red states or blue states, but rather as citizens of the United States, Obama gave us a preview of a new politics of dignity that can extricate us from our current crises. The dignitarian politics that seems to come naturally to President Obama represents not a compromise, but a synthesis of libertarian and egalitarian politics, and in doing so provides an analysis that reconciles conservatism and liberalism.

Dignity for whom? you ask. Dignity for all. For blacks and whites, for men and women, for gays and straights, for young and old, for rich and poor, for immigrants and the native-born, for conservatives and progressives. Obama is also trying to engage friend and foe alike in a global dignitarian dialogue. Dignity for all.

What is the politics of dignity that President Obama exemplifies? It goes far beyond good manners, respect, and civility, though it includes these. Dignity is achieved by methodically eliminating indignities -- interpersonal, institutional, societal, and international.

The American people know that indignities their nation has inflicted on the world have diminished America's stature. And, they know that the daily humiliations that they and their fellow citizens are enduring are incompatible with lives of dignity and signify institutional failure.

How could Obama's presidency address the indignities that manifest as unemployment, corporate corruption, failed schools, no health insurance, foreclosure, homelessness, recidivism, and the subversion of our democracy by moneyed special interests?

To combat indignity, we need to be clear about its cause. The cause of indignity is not power, nor is it power differences. It is rather the abuse of power. To oppose indignity, we do not have to eliminate differences in power, nor the differences in rank that merely reflect them. Persons of high rank who treat their subordinates with dignity are admired, if not loved.

Rank, in itself, is not the culprit. The problem is rank abuse, and it has grown to epidemic proportions. Abuses of rank have no place in a dignitarian world. Taking a page from the women's movement, if we are to combat rank abuse effectively, we must give it a distinctive name, preferably one that puts perpetrators on the defensive. By analogy with racism, sexism, and ageism, abuse of the power inherent in rank is rankism. Once you have a name for it, you see it everywhere.

The outrage over bonuses for failed Wall Street executives is indignation over rankism. The power of lobbyists to override the democratic will of the people is rankism. The deregulation of the financial industry, which made a virtue of self-aggrandizement and facilitated predatory loans and Ponzi schemes, led to the financial ruin of millions and created the worst recession in four score years.

As racism denigrated and disadvantaged blacks, and sexism disenfranchised and restricted women, so rankism marginalizes and exploits the working poor, keeping them in their place while their low pay effectively subsidizes everyone else. As class membranes become less permeable, resignation, cynicism, and indignation mount.

An America in which the American Dream has become a mirage is not an America worthy of the name. The achievability of that dream is what made this country the envy of the world and made us, its citizens, proud. Making that dream good again is a challenge comparable to overcoming the second-class citizenship that has limited blacks, women, gays, and others. Building a dignitarian society is democracy's next evolutionary step.

A dignitarian society will naturally conduct itself differently on the world stage. Nowhere is rankism more dangerous than in foreign relations. International terrorism has multiple, complex causes, but one factor over which we do have a say is rankism between nations. There is no fury like that borne of chronic humiliation. President Obama's demeanor suggests that he understands that a vital part of a strong defense is not giving offense in the first place. His speeches abroad have begun to restore good will toward the United States, and while good will alone does not constitute a national defense, it surely beats the ill- will that we have garnered in recent years.

President Johnson, following his personal instincts, led his fellow countrymen through an about-face on segregation. Much as overcoming a legacy of racism is the work of several generations, so too is the task of building a dignitarian society. President Obama knows that solutions won't arise out of politics as usual. His personification of dignitarian politics resonates not only with Americans but around the world. The next step is to turn from exemplifying the politics of dignity to enunciating its policy implications and molding them into a legislative agenda for a dignitarian America.

Follow Robert Fuller on Twitter: www.twitter.com/robertwfuller

Comments

[pstoddard61]

Dr. Fuller captures our hope for President Obama when he writes, "Nowhere is rankism more dangerous than in foreign relations. International terrorism has multiple, complex causes, but one factor over which we do have a say is rankism between nations. There is no fury like that borne of chronic humiliation. President Obama's demeanor suggests that he understands that a vital part of a strong defense is not giving offense in the first place. His speeches abroad have begun to restore good will toward the United States, and while good will alone does not constitute a national defense, it surely beats the ill- will that we have garnered in recent years."
When President Obama and his family came out on that platform right after he was elected, so many of us had tears coming straight from our hearts. We were feeling the hope that our new president would be able to heal much of the damage in our country and the world that previous administrations had done. We have hope that our president has the strength and courage to live up to the promise that our founders outlined in the early years of our country. Dr. Fuller outlined what this administration's behavior might be based on. I'm grateful for his ability to articulate this hope.
-Linne Gravestock

[steveqgillman]

You'll never get the right wing to sign on. We'll have to leave them behind!

[Robert Fuller - Huffpost Blogger]

Conservatives may think twice before they take a stand against dignity. Actually, I think it's what they want, too. Dignity is what everyone wants. That's why building a politics on the premise of dignity is more inclusive than either libertarian or egalitarian ideology. I mean, who's willing to go on the record in defense of the abuse of power? Rankism is the abuse of power as exercised through rank. Rankism is what people who take themselves for Somebodies feel at liberty to do to people whom they take for Nobodies. The right to exercise rankism is not a very attractive political platform to run on. Who will vote for candidates who insist on their right to indignify others? Dignity for all trumps rankism for some. The right wing may not sign on, but they'll run into diminishing support if they choose to go up against dignity.

[Adam Kahane]

Fuller dignitarian framing is extremely valuable.

[just saying]

"It goes far beyond good manners, respect, and civility, though it includes these."

He must not visit these blogs much.

[Poboy]

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness."

Declaration of Independence [Destination]

http://www.ushistory.org/declaration/document/index.htm

US Constitution [Roadmap]

We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

http://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/constitution.preamble.html

Was this dignitarian?

If so, when did we get detoured in another direction?

[Bayezid Dawla]

There is no alternative to building dignitarian societies if we want democracy to 'rule' our common destiny. I think Obama has an obligation to the world to develop the politics of dignity as the world wecomes his progressive leadership to help peoples out of the politics of disdain and despair. Moreover, Obama is committed to 'CHANGE'. And Dr Fuller articulates this reminder brilliantly in his analytical article which penetrates deeper into human faculties across the globe.

[Byron Williams - Huffpost Blogger]

This is a great piece. Though somewhat bias, it is much more comprehensive than David Brooks' offering, which I happened to like. Everyone who has posted should send this link to others. As we think about the issues important to us, I might be a good idea to return to the values articulated in Dr. Fuller's piece.

[Jeevan Sivasubramaniam]

Very relevant points outlined in a very clear manner. Excellent work, Bob!

[ddrasin]

Why isn't Dr. Fuller's excellent piece on the FRONT page of the Huffington Post? Or, for that matter, the Washington Post? I can't imagine a more urgently needed -- and ultimately more patriotic, in the best sense -- philosophy than that of dignitarianism. Dr. Fuller has named -- and thereby nailed -- THE ideal for the 21st century. Long live the new meme, and long live Robert Fuller!

[TaraEllen]

I've never posted a comment before but this article pulled me out of my shell. The author offers an important analysis that can be applied to everyday life as well as to national/international issues.

[Danny Kleinman]

Yes, President Obama has brought dignity back to the U.S. Presidency, and for that I admire him. However, in other ways he has disappointed me, and Bob Fuller mentions two of the problems President Obama has failed to address effectively.

One is health care, where the problem is not that millions are uninsured, the problem is that health care is administered largely by insurance companies (in whose financial interests it is to deny needed treatment) and paid for in many instances by manufacturing companies who are thus handicapped in comparison with foreign competitors whose governments pay for the health care of their workers.

Another is the number of Americans in jail. Part of the reason is the criminalization of marijuana, a drug that is harmful only to a minor degree, most likely slightly less than tobacco.

I wish our fine President would direct some effort to intelligent remedies of these problems.

[dbaldwin]

Such specific criticisms miss Fuller's point that Obama "is showing us the way." Specific policies are vital, but no progress can be made unless we learn to act on the dignity inherent in ourselves and in each other.

The source of our current crisis was the indignity of white male supremacy. During the 19th century American culture grew around the assumption that white males, simply as white males, were entitled to political, social, and economic power in the United States. When that assumption collapsed after World War II, vast chunks of American culture collapsed with it. In the resulting cultural confusion, we lost a shared understanding of the basis of legitimate power.

Reagan rushed into that vacuum with the news that greed is good and that government policies should first and foremost strengthen the wealthy. We have been subjected to government based on the consent of the wealthy, not on the consent of the governed.

The foundation of power must now be shifted from wealth to "We the people." And, as Obama argued at Philadelphia last year, the idea of "the people" must now be more capacious than it has ever been in our history. Obama's fundamental need is to reassert the idea that a just government can rest only on the consent of the governed, and the only way to do that is to treat people, not only Americans but the rest of the world as well, with dignity and respect.

[simpleliving]

Thank you Dr. Fuller for succinctly summarizing the important themes in the last 50 years of US politics. Obama would be wise to use this as a framework for the programs and policies he sets forth.

[DiogenesOfAlaska]

A world of difference between this and David Brooks' recent NYT column - in which he reaches a similar conclusion, however, to his credit.

[Patrician]

A compelling essay. I would add that David Brooks raised this idea of dignity, but he did so in such a way that he seemed to be trying to hide who he thought the model of dignity was until the last bits of his essay. I wish he had the courage to express himself forthrightly about Obama in this time when Obama needs help from the opposite party to get his health care initiative to move. Brooks writes well, but he compromises high principles time and again, putting party over country.

You have not done that. Your essay deserves my highest compliment. I intend to send it to a very intelligent friend.

[schaefmc]

Robert, thank you for putting a word to this experience that most of us have had at one point or another, which you call "rankism." And hopefully, as with sexism and racism, when you put a word to the abuse of power of all kinds, we become empowered to call it out and no longer stand for it.