Richard Haass at BGR luncheon laments loss of citizenship, says it threatens democracy

By Tyler Bridges

Source: The Times-Picayune | Nola.com

November 17, 2023

Richard Haass has spent decades advising presidents on diplomacy and war as a member of the foreign policy establishment, but he’s now concerned that the biggest threat facing the United States is the enemy within.

He outlined his worries Friday as the keynote speaker at the annual luncheon of the Bureau of Governmental Research in New Orleans, having written a best-selling book published in January and entitled: “The Bill of Obligations: The Ten Habits of Good Citizens.”

Haass said that as he made his rounds in recent years, the question would inevitably arise: “What keeps you up at night? Is it China? Is it North Korea? Is it Iran? Is it climate change? Is it Russia? Increasingly, the answer was all those things are serious. They all worry me,” Haass told the BGR crowd. “But what really keeps me up at night is us — whether we will be able to come together sufficiently to meet these global challenges.”

Polarization
He said polarization and politicization of almost every issue has kept Congress from passing anything more than stopgap measures of late to allow the federal government to keep paying its bills. Those forces also helped unleash the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol by supporters of then-President Donald Trump trying to overturn his loss in the Electoral College.

Haass didn’t try to assess blame, but so many Republicans in the House have refused to approve omnibus spending proposals recently that they toppled Speaker Kevin McCarthy of California last month for shepherding through a temporary resolution allowing the government to stay open. After weeks of chaos, they finally elevated U.S. Rep. Mike Johnson of Benton to be speaker.

Haass lamented the lack of citizenship, an old-fashioned term that is taught less often in school, he said. In defining citizenship, Haass talked about the need for people to learn how bills are passed, how lawmakers often have to compromise for government to move forward and how democracy is the best form of government, despite its numerous flaws.

He didn’t mention it, but another sign of the ill health of democracy is voter disinterest. Only 36% of registered voters turned out for Louisiana’s primary elections last month, and the secretary of state’s office is projecting a turnout of only 15% to 18% for Saturday’s runoffs.

Progress, then stagnation
The years after World War II saw a lot of progress, Haass argued. “Wealth has increased dramatically in this country and around the world,” he said. “The number of people living in democracies has increased around the world. Life expectancy has gone up by decades around the world. Great power war has been avoided for 75 years. … The Cold War stayed cold.”

But over the past 20 years, citizens in this country have lived with the 9/11 attacks that killed more than 3,000 people, costly wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, the 2007-08 recession, the COVID-19 pandemic and a 9% inflation rate during the Biden administration.

“Wealth has stagnated at best for many people in this country,” Haass said. “Wars are becoming more commonplace. … The last 10, 15, 20 years have not been as good. It’s associated with: What is democracy doing? You have a rise in populist, anti-democratic feeling in this country and around the world.”

Haass heaped some of the blame on social media.

“It’s divided us,” he said. “Last time I checked, it’s not called ‘serious media.’ It’s certainly not called ‘accurate media.’”

Haass, who recently stepped down after 20 years as president of the Council on Foreign Relations, addressed foreign policy concerns during the question-and-answer period.

On the Middle East
He said the ultimate solution for conflict in the Middle East is the so-called “two-state solution” that would give Palestinians their own nation.

In the meantime, Haass supported Israel’s right to defend itself, saying, “We should have no illusions of what Hamas represents – the antithesis of democracy and democratic values.”

Haass said Vladimir Putin sought “to extinguish Ukraine as an independent country, get rid of the leadership” but “failed” after taking over only 20% of Ukraine. Still, the war has bogged down in a stalemate, he said, and Ukraine ought to seek a ceasefire.

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