By Grayson Jones, Staff Writer
Last Thursday, Professor Martha Minow was awarded the prestigious John Murray Award for Scholarship by Duquesne University President Ken Gormley. She has dedicated her life to public service and academic excellence, writing several books and giving keynote speeches around the world as she focused her studies on constitutional democracy and legal advocacy work.
A professor at Harvard, Ms. Minow also serves as chair of the MacArthur Foundation. Her discussion on Thursday, Preconditions for Constitutional Democracy, focused heavily on the election – and how to avoid feeling entrenched in feelings of anxiety regarding it.
The world has not seen the level of authoritarianism that Ms. Minow warned us of since the end of the Cold War, and regardless of who wins the election, tensions are likely to remain high. There will likely be chants of “not my President” from whichever side loses.
Ms. Minow has warned of the danger of one-party rule, even if that rule is “friendly.” While the Democratic Party has dominated some states, namely California, Hawaii, and Massachusetts— it has left Republicans in those states feeling as though they lack a voice. Many Democrats and other progressives feel abandoned and voiceless in Republican-dominated states across the Midwest and South, as well.
Thankfully, Pennsylvania seems immune to this one-party dominance – however, in place of that, we suffer from the most extreme form of partisanship. This state swings to either side seemingly every election.
Sometimes, Pennsylvania trends very Democratic, such as in 2022, when Governor Shapiro and Senator Fetterman were elected. Sometimes, as during the “Tea Party” surge of the late 2000s and early 2010s, Pennsylvania swings very Republican.
The state House is divided almost exactly in half – 103 Democrats and 100 Republicans (this number will probably change with the election on Tuesday), and reflects the vision that many Pennsylvanians have.
Overall, I found Ms. Minow’s speech enlightening, as I have lived in very conservative parts of the country (Louisiana and Kansas), very progressive parts of the country (California and Oregon), and very swingy parts of the country (Arizona). It is vitally important to recognize where our biases lie, and I have made strides to acknowledge that everyone is biased in some way or another.
I can’t say I’d be willing to be friends with extremists on either side of the political spectrum, either on the left or on the right, as I’m a pragmatist and lean slightly left-wing libertarian.
I support several positions that the left finds abhorrent – such as lowering taxes on everyone, responsible firearm ownership, and supporting the oil and gas industries to allow our energy independence. I also support positions the right finds morally repulsive – like abortion, LGBTQIA+ rights, and the taxation of churches and other religious organizations.
Though, as an American, I can only hope that we find a common ground where we feel comfortable discussing our biases and shortfalls, and work together to continue to improve the United States as we move into the 250th year since we declared our independence from Great Britain.
