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The Strange “First Citizen” Idea

Michael Auslin defends his strange idea that the U.S. needs to have a “First Citizen” to serve as a symbol of national unity: My proposal for a “First Citizen” is for a non-partisan, non-political national symbol. One who has no governing authority at all, but can represent the nation in those ceremonies and moments when […]

Michael Auslin defends his strange idea that the U.S. needs to have a “First Citizen” to serve as a symbol of national unity:

My proposal for a “First Citizen” is for a non-partisan, non-political national symbol. One who has no governing authority at all, but can represent the nation in those ceremonies and moments when we are supposed to be pulled together as one people.

It’s true that Auslin isn’t arguing for the establishment of a monarchy. The title of his original piece created some avoidable confusion, but there’s also not much to be said for what he is proposing. There may not be any easy solutions to the problems that Auslin identifies in his article, but I’m quite sure that creating a new powerless figurehead to fulfill ceremonial functions isn’t going to do any good. The proposal suffers from being both too nostalgic for the way Americans used to think about the presidency and too preoccupied with the need for a unifying symbol. I suspect that Americans aren’t craving another “national symbol that can truly unite the country,” and I don’t see how such an office could ever be truly “non-political.” Auslin says that the “First Citizen” wouldn’t be permitted to take any political positions or say anything about policy, but that is just the sort of official least likely to inspire confidence or admiration. Partisans are always going to believe that presidents from the other party don’t represent or speak for them, but there are very few Americans that will accept that an appointed nobody is a better representative of the country.

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