Escaping the echo chambers

UND Alum and Federal Judge Ralph Erickson implores citizens to rise above political fray at Constitution Day observance

UND School of Law alumnus and President Trump judicial appointee Ralph Erickson senses it coming.

Americans are getting too comfortable with their own opinions and ignoring differing, inconvenient viewpoints. The country, as a whole, is nearing ideological gridlock with neither side interested in the arguments of the other.

A federal judge on the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals, Erickson says it’s happened before in America — a number of times — usually when the nation is equally divided on matters. Though, this time around, he adds, it feels a bit more potent as the political parties have become even more ideological.

The centrist voices have been worn down, giving way to the more extreme cries of party tribalism, said Erickson, a native of Thief River Falls, Minn., and 1984 graduate of UND’s School of Law.

“We’re pulling away from the middle and that’s a problem,” Erickson told a group of UND law students, professors and members of the public, who gathered to hear him speak Monday, in observance of Constitution Day and Citizenship Day.

Petty politics

There was a time, he said, when people could talk about controversial issues and move forward with common interests – or at least walk away amicably.

From the media to Main Street, that’s a harder sell today, Erickson contends.  People are entrenched in ideological comfort zones with little interest in being persuaded.

“We need to get out of our echo chambers,” said Erickson, his booming voice bouncing off the walls of the UND School of Law’s Baker Court Room.

Our elected leaders need to do the same, he said. As a representative republic, Erickson said, the men and women of Congress are expected, in the end, to do what’s best for the country – not just the slice of the nation they represent, or much less, their party.

“It’s not that they don’t listen to us; it’s that they listen to us too much,” Erickson said.

Erickson said that, we, as a nation, need to start electing people that will shrug off tribalism for the opportunity to accomplish great things and to lead.

“We have to look for people who are interested in moving forward,” he said. “If we’re not getting better, we’re getting worse.”

Preamble is key

And that’s the whole idea behind the preamble of the U.S. Constitution, Erickson reflected.

He focused on the first 15 words of the 231-year-old governing document and what was in the hearts and minds of the framers at the time they wrote it: We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union….

“They wrote the preamble for us,” Erickson said. “They understood … that something had to direct to the people that came after them just what it was that they were about doing. They wanted to tell us what their hopes and dreams were for us – their posterity.”

Erickson said the purpose of the U.S. Constitution, stated overtly in that first line, was to “form a more perfect union.”

North and South, East and West, agrarian economies vs. mercantilism, urban vs. rural, the nation then, as it is today, was rife with potential conflicts.

The Constitution didn’t totally fix many of the issues that made the old Articles of Confederation unworkable — for a nation of states, loosely banded over a large geographical area with varying and sometimes opposing interests – but it greatly improved its chances.

In fact, despite the pursuit of a more perfect union, the nation still devolved into civil war. But, in the end, the union has persevered and the Constitution has continued to evolve as a guiding light to instill justice and preserve all voices.

Unpopular voices

But all voices need to be heard and not simply ignored, Erickson argued.

The Constitution allows unpopular viewpoints to see the light of day without fear of persecution. But, even today, there are attempts to quash dissenting voices.

Erickson reminded his audience that, throughout the course of history, many unpopular beliefs of a certain time have proven to be true years later. He pointed to the Quakers opposition to slavery and the suffragettes and African American’s fights for voting and civil rights.

“The test of time tells us they were right,” he said. “Sure as the sun rises in the east and sets in the west, there are beliefs that we hold true today that will be completely anathema to our grandchildren’s beliefs.”

Turning to politics of the day, Erickson said the biggest threat to the nation right now is the Red State vs. Blue State dynamic, and the enablers in each that propagate ideology without compromise.

“We’re in trouble right now because we refuse to presume the goodness of people who disagree with us. We’ve given in to hate,” he said. “No Republic, no nation can survive that kind of madness.”

But there’s hope, as the nation has proven in the past. Erickson called on his audience to refuse to go along with the insanity.

“Listen with open hearts,” he said. “It is a poor citizen who is unpersuadable. To succeed as a nation, the vast majority of us have to be open to persuasion.

“We have to be willing to follow the truth wherever it may lead us.”

About Constitution Day and Citizenship Day:

Constitution Day and Citizenship Day is observed each year on Sept. 17 to commemorate the signing of the U.S. Constitution on Sept. 17, 1787, and to “recognize all who, by coming of age or by naturalization, have become citizens.” In 2004, Congress mandated that each educational institution which receives Federal funds should hold a program for students on the designated day.