The Grinch Who Stole Democracy

Early this morning I was treated to the happy sounds of a family as they taught the art of water skiing to their youngish children. Oh how happy they were! The kiddies squealed and chirped; daddy-o barked his good natured encouragement; mommy-o offered sensible suggestions regarding matters of posture–the moment was Jeffersonian in its mimesis. The pursuit of happiness was right there before me.

I know I should champion this very principle: attendant and collective happiness is the "stuff" of democracy.

But I felt like the Grinch of democracy. I shut the windows and doors of the cabin and went about my business with a sneer.

How is it that I can be offended by the joys of others? If I lie to myself, this is simply a matter of intellectual inconvenience–you know, the artist interrupted at his desk by the happiness of neighborly tots. Oh but when I try that explanation on for size I remember that Einstein used to work on his calculations while his children played all around him. No honest desk jockey can use the distant cries of the neighbors as grist for the mill of melancholy.

Okay, I thought, what about this: I had an unhappy childhood. I have difficulty hearing the casual joys of others.

Nah. This won’t work. Surely if this kind of cheap reaction formation was the crux of the biscuit, then it would follow logically that I also take pleasure in the unhappiness of others. "Aw, too bad little Johnny got his water-ski stuck and fell sidelong into that water buoy and therefore has to wear that intricate nay, even Rococo body cast for months."

No, I don’t get any pleasure from the pain of others. I know that W.C.Fields said that the pain of others was an essential element of comedy. But he was W.C. Fields and the man died friendless and yes, his kids hated him.

Maybe I’m the Grinch of Democracy because while I must favor the happiness of others I don’t want to know about it. This gets closer to the truth.

This is why democracy is such a challenge.

This is why the rich don’t have to think about democracy very much.

This is why the poor and the middle classes must reaffirm and reeducate themselves about the history and nature of American representative government.

Not long ago I was asked to speak at a city council meeting in Worthington, Ohio. Some local blind folks were asking the town to put some talking street signs at a handful of busy street crossings.

The city of Worthington voted to put in the talking street signs but the debate leading up to the decision was really interesting. One citizen showed up and talked at great length about how a talking street sign would keep his children awake.

When it was explained that the sign would be discreet and that it wouldn’t really affect his household, this fellow began whining about the cost to the general public of putting in such a street sign.

I didn’t argue with the fellow. My role in the affair was to simply outline how the signs could be purchased and to help the city council remember that under the ADA the request for safe street crossings was in fact a "reasonable accommodation" and everyone agreed.

I didn’t have time on that particular evening to provide an informal civics lesson to this angry citizen who felt that helping the blind was both a personal and a pecuniary inconvenience.

But this morning I remembered that moment standing before the Worthington city council. The happiness of others is critical to our collective success.

It doesn’t really matter why I’m an occasional grinch.

What matters is that in a democracy the grinch can put it all in perspective.

S.K.