The ‘Fight… For Our Democracy’ can’t get any better than this
Caribbean Life, Sept. 25-Oct. 1, 2020 25
By Terri Schlichenmeyer
Things could always be
worse.
You didn’t sleep well last
night, your day started earlier
than usual, and traffic,
ugh; then you forgot your
lunch and lost a bag of chips
in a vending machine, and
you never did catch up. You
had a rotten day but look on
the bright side: you’re above
ground and breathing and, as
in “We’re Better Than This”
by Elijah Cummings with
James Dale, someone had
your back.
Throughout most of his
life, Elijah Cummings’ parents
were his guidelights.
“Neither had much education,”
he wrote; they were
sharecroppers who moved
north so that their children
could have better opportunities
and they motivated Cummings
to become a lawyer,
Civil Rights worker, and a
Congressman. They inspired
him to serve, he said, and “I
believe that is why I was put
on this earth.”
His service began early but
his biggest “fight… for our
democracy” began in 2017,
following his first meeting
with the newly-inaugurated
president. Cummings
believed that despite their
fundamental differences,
Trump had listened then,
and understood the needs of
Cummings’ constitutents,
especially in reference to the
cost of prescription drugs.
Instead, Cummings’ words
were dismissed and nothing
happened.
Though not the type to
carry a grudge, Cummings
never forgot. When he was
asked to serve on the House
Committee on Oversight and
Reform two years later, his first
thought was for the American
people, and the responsibility
that his position as chair
of the Committee demanded.
The Trump Administration,
he said, had had no real oversight
until then, and he hoped
to rectify that. He still had
a passion for lowering prescription
drugs, but his new
position demanded a broader
scope of attention.
In months to come, that
would include a fight to keep
important words off the 2020
Census. It included mentoring
and guiding freshman
Representatives. And it
included the groundwork for
impeachment proceedings
that Cummings did not live
long enough to see.
Not just for its political
implications, but for the everyday
lessons inside it, “We’re
Better Than This” is a book to
have now.
Writing literally as he was
dying, author Elijah Cummings
began his book with
two people who appear frequently
in it: his parents.
From there, he sparkles as
a storyteller, sharing vivid
memories that are both personal
and professional, and
that give readers a sharp
sense of what drove him. This
part speaks volumes about
Cummings himself.
It’s hard not to be thrilled
as he proceeds to his recollections
of what happened
while he was chair of the
Oversight Committee: riveted
as we were by it, Cummings’
account of the drama offers
further behind-the-scenes
peeks at, and his thoughts on,
those proceedings. Wisdom, a
charming ownership of his
constituents, some well-deserved
back-patting, and an
awareness of his impending
death add further luster.
In his introduction, co-author
James Dale writes about
his friendship with Cummings,
and about finishing
this inspiring read without
him. That alone is poignant;
the rest is insightful; and
reading “We’re Better Than
This” is really the best idea.
“We’re Better Than
This: My Fight for the
Future of Our Democracy”
by Elijah Cummings with
James Dale
c.2020, Harper $28.99 /
higher in Canada
272 pages
Book cover of ‘We’re Better Than This: My Fight for the Future
of Our Democracy.’
Author Elijah Cummings.