The Practice of Civic Virtue

Law professor and Contributing Opinion Writer Tim Wu ends his essay on what really foiled the Trump administration thusly, “It is called civic virtue, and at the end of the day, there is no real alternative.”

His thesis is intriguing, and I believe, correct. He writes, “What really saved the Republic from Mr. Trump was a different set of limits on the executive: an informal and unofficial set of institutional norms upheld by federal prosecutors, military officers and state elections officials. You might call these values our ‘unwritten constitution.’ Whatever you call them, they were the decisive factor.”

Not the built-in checks and balances we learned in Social Studies lo, those many years ago. The idea of an unwritten constitution appeals to me as a metaphysician. Taught always to seek the meaning behind any symbolism, it came to me this morning that we use the word constitution in another context entirely.

When we talk about health, we sometimes refer to constitution as meaning, per the OED, a person’s physical state regarding health, vitality, and strength. Even if Mr. Wu wasn’t referring to this kind of constitution, its meaning still holds. His unwritten constitution is grounded in the strength required to practice civic virtue.

“[James] Madison intended Congress to be the primary check on the president. Unfortunately, that design has a key flaw (as Madison himself realized). The flaw is vulnerability to party politics. … The problem is chronic, but over the last four years it became virulent. Confronted with a president who was heedless of rules, Senate Republicans, in ways large and small, let him do what [and here I would add, -ever] he wanted. … The Senate became a rubber stamp for executive overreach.”

The subtext might be written, the party before the people. Ultimately, this can never be virtuous nor can it really be civic, or even, civilized. Because it doesn’t consider all the people. Only some.

Mr. Wu again, “Structural checks can be overrated. The survival of our Republic depends as much, if not more, on the virtue of those in government, particularly the upholding of norms by civil servants, prosecutors and military officials. We have grown too jaded about things like professionalism and institutions, and the idea of men and women who take their duties seriously. But as every major moral tradition teaches, no external constraint can fully substitute for the personal compulsion to do what is right.”

To do what is right. Isn’t that it in a nutshell? Oh, but how?! How do we do what is right when what is right—which sounds so good, so clear, so honorable—isn’t an agreed-upon what. In fact, what is right is a consistently disputed thing especially if viewed through a party over polity lens.

New York Times theatre critic Jesse Green writes his summation of this year’s much-truncated, Zoom-conscribed, New York theatre season. His observations offer us a clue as to how to do what is right.

“The pandemic and its concurrent plagues, having forced us to absorb a great deal of grief and fury, require a different kind of a theater today: a more concentrated theater, boiled to its essence. So give me the wailers and screamers, on the moor or in the living room. Give me the geniuses of self-amplification and the tragedians of even small things—the ones who understand, as we now do, that every minute matters.”

… self-amplification
… small things
… every minute matters

Civic virtue, or rather, the practice of civic virtue, is predicated on a strong, vital, healthy sense of self. Sycophants and co-dependents need not apply.

Civic virtue, or its practice, touches the small things. Scenery-chewers and operatic collaturas, go to the back of the line, and watch your betters so that you learn.

Civic virtue, and its practice, knows instinctively that every minute matters, if not to one self, then to another. Polity wins over party moment-by-moment, Beloved, and if you’re a party over polity wonk, lose a turn, do not pass go, pay $200, and hold still whilst your mouth is covered with duct tape till you learn.

Maya Angelou said it succinctly, “When you know better, you do better.” Civic virtue is all about digging deep within your own nature to find both what is right and the courage to do what is right.

Here is a stunningly perfect example of civic virtue.

“Rosa Isabel Rayos, 28, is an Afro-Latina transgender rapper whose goal is to make music that uplifts, supports and encourages Black transgender women—including, at times, herself. ‘Everybody who raps only raps about what they know,’ said Ms. Rayos, who goes by Ms. Boogie when she performs. Her motive just happens to be very clear: to connect to other trans people who need a reminder that they deserve to feel safety, love and joy.”

Remember what qualities are needed for civic virtue, Beloved. Strong self, small things (and I might add, arenas), and every minute counts.

Here’s another example, worldwide, but interpreted properly, ideal for strong self in personal arenas for every precious moment of life. Pantone announced its Color of the Year for 2021, and surprise, surprise! It’s two colors, not one! The New York Times’ subtitle read, “It’s all about the messaging. Get ready for a brighter future.”

Now, between us, it’s quite rare to find overt spiritual messaging in the august pages of The Times, but this morning, at least to my eyes, was a welcome exception.

The two colors … “Which does not represent indecisiveness, but a metaphor. Get ready for Ultimate Gray and Illuminating. Or, in normal-speak: the light at the end of the tunnel.”

“‘No one color could get across the meaning of the moment,’ Laurie Pressman, the vice president of the Pantone Color Institute, said on a call. ‘We all realized we cannot do this alone. We all have a deeper understanding of how we need each other and emotional support and hope.’

Hence, said Leatrice Eiseman, the executive director of the Pantone Color Institute, the decision to select “two independent colors really coming together.”

Rephrase … “two independent strong selves really coming together in the small arenas wherein we can make a difference in every single minute.” Metaphor indeed. Ms. Pressman added, “‘It’s about our minds resetting to what’s really important,’ she said.”

And what is that? In two words? Civic virtue.

Spelled out: it’s time to give up the black and white, right and wrong, good and bad polarization that has so harmed us, and find a way for everyone to be together in the ultimate grays of reality, in strong compromise, and deep care for one another. The only way to make that work is to seek illumination inside the self, right where we are, every precious moment of every precious day.

Dr. Susan Corso is a spiritual teacher, the founder of iAmpersand, and the author of The Mex Mysteries, the Boots & Boas Books, and spiritual nonfiction. Her website is susancorso.com.

Photo courtesy of cutepotatoes.com