An Agenda for a Better America
Stop Pretending, Start Hoping and Solve Problems Together
Welcome to the Civic Way journal. This is the introductory essay for our coming American Progress Agenda series, recommended strategies for solving America’s most pressing problems. The author, Bob Melville, is the founder of Civic Way, a nonprofit dedicated to good government, and a management consultant with over 45 years of experience improving public agencies.
One should . . . be able to see things as hopeless and yet be determined to make them otherwise. ― F. Scott Fitzgerald
Overview
It is hard to watch the Trump administration treat our nation and its people with such callous disregard, outright cruelty and utter recklessness. It is even more disheartening to watch those who should know better justify (or ignore) his administration’s chainsaw approach to governing. To remain silent while the nation’s reputation is sullied, its soul murdered and its future vanquished.
Following the feckless opposition also is dispiriting. They complain, roll their eyes, protest and give speeches. They defend the status quo but offer few new ideas for reforming our ossified institutions, systems and programs. Inadvertently, their hubris may have impaired their ability to hear voter fears and opened the door for a narcissistic, inept and divisive demagogue.
The Vanishing Center
In his poem, “The Second Coming,” William Butler Yeats wrote that, when the “centre cannot hold,” “things fall apart… anarchy is loosed upon the world …” In the US, the political center no longer holds. It may have only gone into hiding, but chaos is indeed being loosed on the world.
Our two-party system once served as a safe harbor for centrists. For years, the two parties often found ways to blunt extremism and find common ground. More importantly, they shared a commitment to constitutional tenets like the Bill of Rights, democracy and shared powers. Today’s choice between one party that hates the status quo and another that defends it leaves no middle ground.
Those political leaders who once respected other views, who worked across the aisle, who cared more about our future than their jobs, have become cowardly collaborators or muted bystanders, or left the arena altogether. The Congress and Supreme Court have ceded their powers to the executive branch. Many large broadcasters, universities and law firms have surrendered their independence. Most political centrists have raised the white flag or entered witness protection.
There are many reasons for our capitulation to extremism. An insatiable thirst for political power and influence. The manipulation of fears and biases. Wanton greed and materialism. Our voracious appetite for diversion. Rigged elections—thanks to partisan primaries and gerrymandering—that yield submissive sycophants and deranged extremists. Inefficient government that has alienated millions. Widespread laziness, indifference and callousness. The retreat of accountability.
And then there is the superpower of self-deception, especially among many who once occupied the thoughtful center. Who use their minds not for critical thinking but for sheltering their biases. Who convince themselves that they cannot see facts no matter how inconvertible. Who train themselves to look the other way. In short, those who have mastered the art of adult fantasy.
Conservative Delusions
Conservatives once stood for such notions as small government, minimal debt, strong defense, personal freedom and accountability. They championed economic competitiveness, innovation and growth. They accepted electoral losses. They even supported vibrant institutions. Like Edmund Burke[i], one of conservatism’s founding fathers, they expected government to ensure stability, in part by supporting institutions that sustained the social fabric (e.g., church, property and family).
Under MAGA, the Republican Party has mutated from principled conservatism to nihilistic radicalism. Its advocates employ the same tactics for which they once taunted the left—like martyrdom and cancel culture. Without evidence, they claim that Christians are under attack, mysterious forces are coming for our guns and hordes of transgender athletes will destroy American sports. They seek to rewrite history, censor diversity and equity, and destroy the reputations of those who challenge their leader.
The self-deception of so many conservatives has been heartbreaking. Instead of honoring their principles, many simply pretend not to see what might upend their world view. Climate change’s growing toll. A budget that worsens the federal debt. Mass deportations that rip families apart. Federal troop deployments that terrorize cities. A bizarre public school funding freeze. The inexplicable rejection of science. The gutting of federal agencies. The emasculation of Congress and federal courts. Rampant presidential corruption. The erosion of civil liberties and the rule of law.
In recent months, far too many conservatives have embraced the absurd. That replacing nonpartisan professionals with political loyalists will improve government. That Hegseth, Gabbard and Patel are qualified. That Kristi Noem runs her department. That the raid on Los Angeles’ MacArthur Park by 90 National Guard members and 17 Humvees was about immigrants. That diversity, equity and inclusion are evil. That Democrats hate America. That the Jeffrey Epstein client list no longer exists.
Perhaps the most glaring sign of the GOP’s collapse into cultism is their “big, beautiful bill.” GOP supporters of this cruel, reckless bill pretend that it won’t inflate federal deficits[ii], drain the government’s borrowing capacity and harm the economy. They dismiss the impact of massive food stamp cuts on the nation’s poor[iii]. They insist that the huge Medicaid cuts won’t spark hospital closures, end health insurance for millions and cause thousands of preventable deaths[iv]. They ignore the bill’s many other landmines[v], including likely Medicare cuts[vi].
As MAGA continues its radical assault on American institutions, many conservatives will keep pretending. That ending research, destroying universities and barring foreign students won’t hurt our economy. That ICE raids and migrant detention camps are for law-breaking migrants not dissenting citizens. That National Weather Service and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) funding cuts won’t cause preventable fatalities. That accountability is for losers[vii].
Liberal Delusions
Liberals suffer from delusions, too. One is that demography and identity are political destiny. Another is that, but for constitutional quirks like the Electoral College, bad judicial decisions like Citizens United and election chicanery like gerrymandering, the Democrats wouldn’t lose so many elections. Such thinking persuades Democrats that focus groups, interest group politics and top down governance are ample stand-ins for listening, grassroots campaigns and local governance.
Today, many liberals sedate themselves with the dream that democracy will save the nation from MAGA. That, under the Trump administration, consumer confidence will fall, inflation will surge and tariff wars will trigger a recession. That the voters will then turn on MAGA and the Democrats will regain the House and Senate in 2026 and the presidency in 2028. Again, they tell themselves that they only have to ridicule Trump and scorn MAGA to win.
Liberals too often pretend that they have the answers to our nation’s ills. That they know what’s best for the nation, a state or a community and its people. That polling and survey groups are a perfectly fine substitute for engaging and listening to voters. That, even if the liberals don’t blow their own horns, the voters will reward them for their good intentions and efforts.
Perhaps the most consequential of liberal delusions involves governance. For example, some liberal officials mistake process for results. Such officials are inclined to believe that satisfying interest groups and complying with process are higher priorities than getting things done. As Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson argue in Abundance, this tendency to get paralyzed by process can effectively make liberal public officials “symbolically liberal and operationally conservative.”
Some liberal leaders forget that voters care a lot less about policies than they do. As a result, they may overlook those matters that frustrate voters most—for instance, poor DMV service, long tax returns or unreliable garbage pickup. Liberal officials sometimes discover too late that taking care of the nuts and bolts is a prerequisite to reelection. Conversely, that making government work—delivering efficient services, ensuring affordable healthcare and housing, and completing infrastructure projects on time and budget—is more valued by voters than defending the status quo.
An American Agenda
These are dispiriting times for those who cherish our nation’s democracy and possibilities. Who appreciate the wisdom of our founding fathers. Who count on government to protect capitalism from itself. Who value living in a democratic republic with constitutional rights like due process, speech and religion. Who treasure the rule of law. For them, hope is increasingly beyond reach.
Nevertheless, as F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote, we must find a way to turn hopelessness into hope. So, as Trump’s second term wreaks even more havoc than the first, the loyal opposition should do what it largely failed to do during Trump’s first term, craft a bold new American Progress Agenda.
What should that agenda entail? Blending pragmatism with idealism, it should offer actionable strategies for making the US a more livable and affordable place for ordinary people. It should honor the constitutional ideals of freedom, fairness and dignity. It should expand opportunities for poor, powerless and working Americans. It should elevate results over regulation.
The agenda should focus more on reforming institutions than defending them. It should include short-term measures that can be implemented easily and enhance government’s reputation quickly. It also should include long-term measures such as the following:
Protect freedoms (e.g., civil liberties, due process, voting and privacy).
Expand economic opportunities (e.g., innovation, small business and immigration reform).
Strengthen communities (e.g., safety, crime prevention, justice, housing, livability and parks).
Enhance personal health (e.g., public health, environment, food safety, healthcare quality, access and costs, reproductive health, drug costs, insurance, and provider oversight).
Prepare children for the future (e.g., childcare, public K-12 education, higher education, civic education and adult learning).
Modernize infrastructure (e.g., project capacity, financing, safety, costs and speed, energy access and affordability, transportation, commerce, water and sanitation).
Make government work (federal, state and local operations, regional compacts, judicial operations, tax reform, budgeting, customer services, regulatory reform and accountability).
In the coming months, we will post a series of draft recommended strategies for solving America’s major problems. The input we receive will be incorporated in subsequent drafts. Ultimately, our hope is to integrate the refined strategies into a coherent agenda for all Americans.
Such an agenda is no panacea but thinking seriously and collaboratively about solving problems—instead of blaming each other for those problems—can provide an enduring antidote to despair.
I don't have problems with your suggestions of what we should do. (Bulwark had a terrific piece by Zeke Emmanuel laying out a splendid health care agenda.) My problem is that I don't know how we get there from here. It seems to me you're a victim of your own concern of confusing policies (agendas, platforms, proposals, whatever...) with something real. Real things require laws being passed--including all the clunky trade-offs that make it hard to explain to the average voter--and resources made available to put them into action. Neither of those is possible at the national level and, for related reasons, in most of the state and local governments. The average citizen (i.e. me) has no recourse but participating in demonstrations (we HAVE TO show that what is happening is not okay) and doing whatever here and there.... But the kind of sweeping agenda you imagine seems beyond any reality in the foreseeable future.