Exercise democracy

Northwestern Financial Review, Feb 15-Feb 28, 2005 by Bengtson, Tom

Everyone who attended the American Bankers Association's annual convention last October received a book called "The Future of Freedom," by Newsweek International editor Fareed Zakaria. Now would be a good time to read that book.

Zakaria's book is all about democracy, which seems to be in the spotlight these days, especially in places like Afghanistan, the Ukraine, Palestine and Iraq. As Zakaria noted in New York before bankers, democracy has great potential but it has limits as well. "The Future of Freedom" does a good job of describing the boundaries ofthat potential.

In this country, democracy is sometimes referred to as the "American experiment" - and the results are not necessarily in. This thing we call freedom, articulated through a democratic form of government, is evolving all the time. Reading a book about democracy around the world makes it easier for Americans to realize just how lucky we are - and, that we have a great responsibility. Democratic freedom is a little like a muscle. If you exercise it, the muscle grows strong; if you don't, it withers away.

We are well into the new year. The 109th Congress is underway, the President has delivered his State of the Union address, and most state legislatures are in full swing. Bankers have tremendous opportunity to make the American experiment work. Your livelihood depends on your participation in the political process. Congress will consider several issues directly related to the banking industry this year: GSE regulation, corporate governance, deposit insurance reform, bankruptcy, and regulatory relief to name a few. Bankers need to work these issues and others with their elected officials. Associations offer a lot of help. If you have never traveled to Washington D.C. with your state group, make this the year that you do it. Elected officials need to hear from constituents, and they especially need to hear from community leaders such as bankers.

Considering the size of our government and all the competing interests, it is easy to think that our actions don't matter. But if you read "The Future of Freedom," you will see that our actions do matter. There are people around the globe willing to risk their lives for the freedoms we take for granted here. Voting is only the first step; your ongoing engagement in the political process makes our democracy stronger and our country better. The American experiment isn't over; at 228 years, it's really only just getting started. We are all a part of the experiment; let's work to assure the results are a worthy model for the world.

By Tom Bengtson, Publisher