During a speech at Duke University’s Sanford School of Public Policy, Former UNC system president Tom Ross said “that in the wake of a historically divisive election American democracy is ‘inching toward failure.’”
For the most part, it’s pretty much the typical liberal/academic stuff you’re seeing on social media: scared, angry white people “voted based on emotion rather than facts or issues.”
I expected that from a guy like Ross, but then the other shoe drops (emphasis mine):
There is no “miracle solution” for fixing our current political system, Ross said. He encouraged members of the standing-room crowd to donate their time and energy to government. Addressing the students in attendance, he encouraged them to consider careers in government after graduation, reminding them that they are “the ones who can really make a difference.”
He also asked people to remind their friends and families about the good that government does – and what it costs to do that good.
“Stop taking things for granted, and think about how government matters to us,” he said. “Help people understand that it isn’t free. Roads aren’t free. Sewer systems aren’t free. You have to invest in those. That infrastructure requires an investment. It’s called taxes. We have to invest. We don’t get the returns if we don’t make the investment.”
To be fair to Ross, that’s not a direct quote, so it’s possible the News & Observer reporter’s paraphrasing was a bit off. Whatever the case, let me just say that anyone suggesting that we “donate our time and energy to government” is a far more dangerous sign that our republic is inching toward failure than the fair square election of Donald Trump.
