“There’s some passion in the building, which is a good thing,” Tim Walz shouted over thunderous heckling as he took the podium during an event at the Minnesota State Capitol in April. Today, it feels as though politicians have wholly forgotten the purpose of politics: to bargain, negotiate and compromise for our betterment. The American political machine has become so addicted to disagreement, hate and negativity that it is almost paralyzed beyond repair. But Walz was right: Politics is a passionate art, and that’s far from a bad thing.
Nowadays, politics is just as much theater and entertainment as it is actual public service. One must be flashy or provocative to have a chance of being heard: “I hate my opponent,” said President Trump at Charlie Kirk’s Sunday memorial service. “I don’t want the best for them.” The president chose this somber moment — a reflection on the life of a man murdered in an act of political violence — to air his personal grievances and attract attention. Popular politicians from the other side of the aisle, like Gavin Newsom, the Democratic governor of California, are adopting a similar style of discourse — imitating Trump’s all-caps, meme-filled posts. This sets a dangerous precedent.
Even as recently as the 2010s, political discourse was just as passionate as today, but somehow respectful and civil in a way that would make former politicians look like Mother Teresa. In older debates, candidates from across the political spectrum would address their fiercest opponents in humane and kind ways — an act that was seen not as weak, but as an expectation. Most famously, in 2008, then-Republican presidential nominee Senator John McCain dispelled supporters’ fears of Senator Barack Obama — the then-Democratic presidential nominee — by describing him as “a decent person … that I just happen to have disagreements with on fundamental issues.”
Recent administrations have been so focused on “undoing” the work of their predecessors that little energy is being put into helping the American people. This paralyzes our political system, and it’s not unique to the White House. In Congress, the use of the filibuster and other ways to slow down legislation from the other side of the aisle has also risen in recent years — sometimes to the brink of government shutdown. For example, in response to the Republicans’ One Big Beautiful Bill Act, Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) used his “magic minute” as the leader of the Democratic Party to speak for eight hours and 45 minutes.
Our legislators are getting less and less done as time passes, which could explain why Trump has signed such a staggering number of executive orders this term. As of Sept. 20, he has signed 205 executive orders in just over 240 days in office, putting him on pace to sign 306 executive orders per year — the most of any president since former President Franklin Delano Roosevelt in his first term. However, there was a much better explanation for Roosevelt’s orders: They were needed to overhaul and expand the federal government in response to the Great Depression. In his other three terms, Roosevelt signed fewer executive orders, and by the end of his presidency in 1945, he had signed an overall average of 307 executive orders per year — just one more than Trump’s current pace. Why is our current — peacetime — president signing executive orders at almost the same pace as during the Great Depression and World War II?
It’s beyond clear that something is wrong with our politics. We’ve abandoned the values that made the United States a beacon and leader of the free world for decades in exchange for political reality television and TikTok edits. So, what can we do? We need candidates who demonstrate professionalism and compassion not just in their political activity, but also in their daily lives. The best example in contemporary politics is James Talarico, a Texas state representative who is noted for both his ability to speak across the aisle and his social media presence. We need politicians who campaign and meet people in Providence or New York City just as successfully and meaningfully as in rural Missouri or Montana. We need someone who can engage their most fervent supporters just as much as they can respect the views of their opponents.
All Americans, not just politicians, need to see those on the other side of the aisle as people — as Americans — and find common ground. We need to listen to what other people have to say, whether we agree or want to stop listening after their first word. We need civility and kindness in our politics again, even if it is less entertaining to follow or makes for less exciting debates. The political discourse we need is not boring, but instead realistic, respectful and productive.
Clay Edelson ’29 can be reached at clayton_edelson@brown.edu. Please send responses to this column to letters@browndailyherald.com and other opinions to opinions@browndailyherald.com