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The workings and actions of Democracy

Melody Barnes, Executive director, University of Virginia’s Karsh Institute of Democracy, left, at a meeting at the University of Virginia.
Karsh Institute of Democracy
Melody Barnes, Executive Director, University of Virginia’s Karsh Institute of Democracy, left, at a meeting at UVA. File photo.

Essay: A public life serving democracy brings surprising rewards

By Melody Barnes

Executive director, University of Virginia’s Karsh Institute of Democracy 

For VCIJ at WHRO

We often believe that democracy means whatever is important to us. Democracy means addressing climate change. Democracy means lowering taxes. Democracy means passing immigration reform. Democracy means eliminating regulation. In reality, democracy allows us to take on all these issues.

But democracy itself is much more foundational. It’s the way we govern ourselves. It’s how we approach and determine what to do on immigration, regulation, taxes, and climate change. Democracy brings structure to our collective political life as we make decisions on issues both mundane and critical. It’s also important to understand that democracy isn’t a given. It requires hard work and sacrifice.

Put simply, democracy is an action word.

The people showcased in this project are essential to that definition of democracy. From poll workers to formerly incarcerated citizens ensuring access to voting, from information seekers to journalists to veterans of our armed services combatting disinformation, the stories featured here demonstrate how “we the people” can make democracy work. Those who are making a difference on the ground are an inspiration to me as I continue the work that has shaped my life.

I was born at an auspicious moment for democracy—1964—a time when robust access to the ballot dramatically shifted to include my family and others who needed new laws to protect the most basic right of citizenship: the right to vote.

My family shaped my view of public service. Every man in my family—my dad, my grandfathers, and three uncles -- served in the military. My father worked for the Department of the Army his whole career and my mother was a public-school educator. From them, I learned that public service was honorable and valuable.

As United States Senate Judiciary Committee chief counsel to Senator Ted Kennedy, I was dedicated to improving the lives of our constituents and shaping policy that supported everyone – often collaborating with Members of Congress with different perspectives.

After working on the 2008 presidential campaign, I served as President Obama’s director of the White House Domestic Policy Council. Our first job was to work closely with members of President George W. Bush’s team before the inauguration to get up to speed on the issues.

When we began our work, the United States was in the throes of the Great Recession. We needed to work together to prevent a complete collapse of the economy. We sat down with our Bush administration colleagues, and they could not have been more supportive. Armed with documents and charts, they explained their approach to the challenges we faced. Often, we hear the phrase “peaceful transfer of power,” but I was participating in it, and I was struck by its significance. Individuals from another party -- who had supported the other candidate – were invested in our success. It was the embodiment of public service.

That experience, along with others throughout my career, has reinforced the importance of democracy and brought me to my current role as executive director of the Karsh Institute of Democracy at the University of Virginia. At the Karsh Institute, we work to foster good governance and meaningful engagement in civic life. We collaborate with individuals, as well as university-based, local, national, and global organizations to generate knowledge and solutions, and cultivate the skills necessary for democracy to thrive.

The work is challenging, but I am sustained by the principles and aspirations we strive to realize. I remember sitting in Senator Kennedy’s kitchen one evening reflecting on his life and career — the assassinations of his brothers, the successes and the tragedies after more than 40 years in politics — and I asked him, “Why do you keep doing this?” He looked at me and said, “Because when it works, it’s amazing.”

There’s a deep sense of satisfaction and exhilaration that comes with doing the hard, frustrating, but ultimately hopeful work of bringing the world as it is closer to the world as it should be. In believing in something and seeing it happen. In serving one’s community and the nation. That’s why this matters. That’s why we do what we do.

As imperfect as it may be, when it works, it really is amazing.

Melody Barnes is executive director of the University of Virginia’s Karsh Institute for Democracy. Barnes has more than 25 years of experience crafting public policy. She served in the administration of President Barack Obama as assistant to the president and director of the White House Domestic Policy Council.