There’s always a bit of a hangover
after an election. You never get exactly
the results you want, but culminating events like elections also beget
introspection and reflection. As the
sound and fury of campaign season dies down, we have the opportunity to look at
the broader historical context that has led to California’s dysfunctional
government and what this election really means.
We need to remember that California
is more than a state. It is a state of
mind defined by possibility. California
took America’s Dream of a better life and imbued it with the sense that not
just material opportunity – a good home, a good job, and the ability to provide
a better life for your kids – but really anything was possible on California’s
Golden shore.
California’s Dream of an even better
life goes back to the Gold Rush and Carey McWilliam’s magic equation: "Gold
equals energy." Farmers abandoned their
plows; sailors left their ships; the world poured into California for the chance
to strike it rich. American California
burst into existence in the short span of time between the discovery of gold in
January 1848 and its acceptance into statehood in September 1850.
The preamble to the California
Constitution reads: "We, the People of the State of California, grateful to
Almighty God for our freedom, in order to secure and perpetuate its blessings,
do establish this constitution." The
words "and perpetuate" were only added, however, in the 1879 convention. During boom times, it never seems that the
gold is going to run out. Yet good
governance demands that we think ahead and set up institutions that are capable
of dealing with less than rosy situations.
The early days of American
California affected our state’s DNA through more than its governance
institutions. California was separated
from the rest of the world by towering mountains, arid deserts, and
temperamental oceans. The harsh journey
acted as a filter, making Californians in aggregate more adventurous and
willing to take risks. You still see
that spirit today, evidenced in the fact that almost a quarter of all private space enterprise in the world occurs
here. California companies and
universities lead the world in biotechnology, information technology,
aerospace, and other cutting edge fields for a reason.
This boom mentality also has had
negative side effects on California governance. The gold plated pension
obligations of the late 90’s, which assumed the Dow Jones would hit 28,000,000 in 2099, seemed to implicitly
presume that the Internet bubble would never end. You also see this mentality today when
California’s state legislators wonder aloud if the state’s finances will just
magically improve from some sort of California economic miracle. The problem with this thinking is that although
California is a special place, it still exists in reality. Even though you can life the good life here,
we still need to pass a balanced budget.
It would be naive to think that
events over 160 years ago are directly responsible for our current crisis. But it would be equally naive to think that a
hugely pivotal event such as the Gold Rush – the first truly global event in
human history – didn’t leave an impression on our society.
So as we reflect on last week’s
results, we should remember that this election is just a brief moment in California’s
proud history. And we should remember
the deep societal questions that elections are supposed to help answer: What
makes us Californian? What is our vision
for the state? And how can we get our
government to reflect those answers?
As we try to get beyond the cycle of
temporary budget fixes and bitter partisan politics to build a government that realizes
this state’s incredible potential, we could do worse than collectively reflect
on how the Gold Rush has shaped contemporary California. Before we can reach a consensus on where
California should go, we need to remember where we’re from.