Elected Leaders, a Free Press, and the Continuing Work of Democracy: My Perspective

It is hard to describe the pride I felt when I raised my hand and swore an oath to support the Constitution of the United States. The oath was administered by the Governor of Texas, Mark White, during my first legislative session.

The swearing-in ceremony was both solemn and joyful. I saw the same pride on the faces of my “rookie class” of 33 new state representatives. We stood there with our chests out, humbled by the responsibility before us.

Each of us understood that we were stepping into something much larger than ourselves. We were pledging ourselves to an extraordinary document, to a long national struggle, and to the many lives sacrificed to make self-government possible. We also understood that the laws passed during our time would reflect how faithfully we handled the responsibilities of democracy.

A Condensed History of the Privilege We Inherited

Before the First Amendment formally protected freedom of the press, the power of the written word had already helped shape the American Revolution.

Thomas Paine, though not considered one of the Founders, was one of the great voices of that era. He was a newspaper man, a radical Enlightenment thinker, and a champion of republican government, natural rights, and democratic self-rule. His writings influenced the principles on which the nation was built.

Paine wrote:

“A constitution is not the act of a government, but of a people constituting a government; and government without a constitution is power without a right.”

That idea remains central to American democracy. Government receives its legitimacy from the people, not the other way around.

From the American Revolution to the present, American democracy has evolved from a limited and exclusionary republic into a broader, multiracial representative system. Over more than 250 years, that progress has been shaped by grassroots struggles to expand voting rights, dismantle legal inequality, and secure equal protection under the law.

The Founding Era: 1775-1789

The American Revolution introduced the world to bold ideas of equality, liberty, and popular sovereignty. The Declaration of Independence declared that “all men are created equal,” a revolutionary statement for its time, even though the country did not yet live up to that promise.

Voting remained largely restricted to property-owning white men. Women, enslaved people, free Black people, Native Americans, and many others were excluded from full political participation.

The Constitution created a representative republic with checks and balances. The Bill of Rights, added in 1791, protected essential individual freedoms, including speech, religion, assembly, and the press.

The federal court system was established through the Judiciary Act of 1789, signed into law by President George Washington. This created a three-tiered federal judiciary, including the Supreme Court, circuit courts, and district courts.

From the courthouse to the statehouse to the United States Congress, the American system was built on the idea that law, representation, and accountability must work together.

Expansion, Division, and Reconstruction

During the Jacksonian era of the 1820s and 1830s, voting rights expanded to most white men regardless of property ownership. This shifted political power toward the so-called “common man,” but women and people of color remained excluded.

The Civil War forced the nation to confront the meaning of “We the People.” President Abraham Lincoln argued that the Constitution did not allow states to secede, and the country endured four years of war to preserve the Union.

The war remains the bloodiest conflict in American history. It also fundamentally changed the republic. What began as a fight to preserve the Union ultimately led to the abolition of slavery and new constitutional protections.

The 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments abolished slavery, established birthright citizenship and equal protection, and granted Black men the right to vote.

Those amendments did not end injustice, but they changed the constitutional foundation of the country.

Progressivism and Civil Rights

The struggle for equal citizenship continued into the 20th century.

After decades of advocacy, the 19th Amendment guaranteed women the right to vote in 1920.

During the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s, activists challenged segregation, Jim Crow laws, voter suppression, and legal discrimination. Landmark legislation, including the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965, helped dismantle many barriers to equal participation. President Lyndon Baines Johnson played a major role in championing those laws.

In 1971, the 26th Amendment lowered the voting age to 18, reflecting the political engagement of young Americans during the Vietnam War era.

In recent decades, our democracy has continued to face serious questions involving campaign finance, voting access, redistricting, election security, voter participation, and political polarization. These issues reflect both the progress and the unfinished work of our system.

Democracy Is Still Being Earned

When the Declaration of Independence was written, the idea that “all men are created equal” was revolutionary. But the country has spent generations struggling to make that idea real.

My freshman class in the Texas Legislature was part of that continuing change. More women and people of color were entering public office. Progress could feel painfully slow. At times, one person can feel like an infinitesimally small piece of history.

But every person who believes in the Constitution and acts in service to democracy is still a piece of that history.

Those of us who entered public service did so for different reasons. Some were driven by a deep desire to serve. Some arrived almost by accident. In my case, public service began close to home.

How I Found My Way Into Public Service

I had moved to a small piece of property outside town that had belonged to my grandfather. I began serving because the community around me needed basic local services.

There was no town hall, so I asked the owner of an old, closed-up building to donate it for use as a community center. He agreed. But there was no money to renovate it.

At the time, I owned a small electrical shop with two employees. We renovated the building and installed the lighting ourselves. The community center was named after the man who donated the building.

Later, because of my children, I started coaching Little League. The team had no bleachers and no lights for night games. I discovered there was an old, defunct baseball field in a park owned by a nearby state university. I approached the university and asked them to donate the field for community use. They did.

With help from the kids and a few volunteers, we rebuilt the baseball field. I furnished and installed the lights. Night games became a joy for that small community.

At the request of the school board, I also helped raise money for a new gymnasium for the school girls, including my daughter and her friends. Eventually, I ran for the school board.

Through all of this, I discovered something important: sincere, organized, thoughtful voices can bring real change to a community. And some of the best public service begins with the needs of the young, the old, and the people who are easily overlooked.

There is nothing like success to seduce a person into trying to do more.

Entering Politics

Somewhere along the way, I became county Democratic Party chairman. I am a little fuzzy on the details, but I believe part of the reason was that the Republican Party chairman was also named Bob Melton. He was a respected oil and gas man, and over the years he and I became good friends.

That role eventually led to a call from the Texas Democratic Party. They told me that Texas Attorney General Mark White would be visiting nearby Waco and making short trips to surrounding communities. I agreed to organize a luncheon for him.

That day did not begin my political life, but it certainly gave it a boost.

Mark White arrived early, with CBS national news following him. We walked around the town square, and I introduced him to people who were meeting both of us for the first time. It was a proud day for me. My mother, watching from Houston, saw me on the nightly news walking the next governor around my chosen town.

At the luncheon, my political inexperience showed. I sat at the head of the table and seated the future governor to my left. We both gave speeches. Mine was short, humble, and sincere. His was polished and powerful.

When I organized the luncheon at the fanciest restaurant in town, I assumed everyone would pay for their own meal. After the speeches, as conversation relaxed, Mark White seemed to realize what was about to happen. He leaned over and quietly said, “Take care of this and tell them it is on me.”

That was Mark White. He was politically skilled, but more importantly, he wanted to serve all people.

I am sure that day gave me credibility as a prospective legislator.

The Oath and the Obligation

When I later stood to take the oath of office, I understood that I was not simply beginning a job. I was accepting a responsibility.

Democracy is not self-sustaining. It depends on citizens who participate, elected officials who respect their oath, courts that protect the law, and a free press that informs the public and holds power accountable.

The Constitution gives us a framework, but each generation has to decide whether it will honor that framework or weaken it.

I was proud to serve. I was proud to be part of the continuing American experiment. And I still believe that public service, when done honestly, remains one of the highest obligations a citizen can accept.

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