John’s Political Philosophy

As a former high school government teacher, I have spent a lot of time reflecting on the different forms of government in history, from monarchy to democracy and everything in between. Ultimately, my belief is that there is no perfect political system, as long as imperfect people exist. However, I would like to explain what I see as the best form of government and what I believe is the individual citizen’s relationship and responsibility within it.

When I think of all the possible systems of government, a mixed form of political organization is best, in my view. The historical advocate of this type of polity was the famous Greek philosopher Aristotle. Why did he think this? Aristotle argued that a mixed form of government avoids the potential pitfalls of a monarchy, aristocracy and a pure democracy. In other words, a monarchy is not bad per se, but an unrestrained monarch can turn into a tyrant, if unchecked. Aristocracy is not bad either, but a government of the rich and powerful can also devolve into an oligarchy if leaders forget the purpose of serving the average citizen. Finally, a democracy is good but can also deteriorate into mob rule if those who are given the responsibility of citizenship do not take it seriously, or who fall prey to the dictates of a demagogue (see Alexander Hamilton’s Federalist Papers).

The ancient Romans were much enthralled with Aristotle as well and instituted a republic before descending into an empire. The famous Roman historian Polybius admired the Greeks, and his analysis of Greek forms of government that influenced later political philosophers like John Locke and Baron von Montesquieu. Both Locke with his social contract theory and Montesquieu and the idea of separation of powers deeply influenced our Founding Fathers.

In short, we in the United States have a strong debt to our western heritage, and our form of government is a product of 2,500 years of history. Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, Benjamin Franklin and others were learned men who were aware of the classic Greco-Roman and Enlightenment political philosophers and ultimately amalgamated the best from them.

This is why a representational form of government like our democratic republic, a parliamentary system, or even a constitutional monarchy are the most tried and true political systems. They all have built-in checks and balances that prevent any one branch of government from gaining too much power. However, they are not perfect either. A functioning democratic republic requires an informed and educated populace. Citizenship requires work and cannot be taken for granted. We all must participate. When we don’t, this is precisely when the guard rails of our democratic system can be tested and possibly broken.

I am reminded of the question that a woman once asked Benjamin Franklin after he walked out of Independence Hall in 1787. She inquired, “Well, Doctor, what have we got—a republic or a monarchy?” He replied, “A republic, if you can keep it.” With civic engagement, access to voting, and a robust education, I am hopeful we can.

The Straight Scoop

One of the most important characteristics of a successful public servant is the willingness to be transparent. Unfortunately, one doesn’t often see this with politicians, or people in general for that matter. This is why I wanted to paint a picture of the political environment that at times has existed on the county board. Since the county board is non-partisan, this doesn’t mean that everyone on the board is apolitical. On the contrary, most supervisors hold strong political views and many are members either of the Democratic or Republican parties. This is entirely understandable and expected. People who are not politically involved in the first place probably would have little interest in running for the board.

With that in mind, as supervisors, we need to remind ourselves that the vast majority of issues we vote on are non-partisan in nature. As I often like to say, “There are no Democratic or Republican roads. There are only roads, and they need to be paid for.” Of course, this is not to say that budgeting for roads, the sheriff’s department, the courts, health services, etc. has no political implications. In principle, everything we vote on can broadly be construed as “political”. In other words, I would argue that the meaning of political refers to any decisions made to address the needs of Kenosha County.

Yet, there is another sense of the word political that most people think of when they hear the word - and that is ideological. Being ideological here is defined as using hyper-partisan means to achieve a particular goal. To be ideological leads to cynicism and a lack of trust which is not healthy. Even more insidiously, it often results in the undermining of colleagues by actively campaigning against fellow incumbents, financially backing the opponents of sitting supervisors, or putting out literature that is deceptive in order to deliberately undermine another’s candidacy. Instead, let’s all work together for the betterment of our districts and county at large, and avoid the type of partisanship which does nothing for the constituents we represent.