by Jay Bookman, Georgia Recorder, [This article first appeared in the Georgia Recorder, republished with permission]
August 14, 2026
“We the people of the United States of America ….”
That phrase from the preamble to the Constitution seems a quaint, almost archaic notion in these divisive times, times in which we’ve lost faith in ourselves and in each other.
We the people, acting together, toward a shared purpose, a more perfect union? Do we still share enough common ground to make that possible, despite our differences?
One place to start in revitalizing that shared purpose would be at the most basic level of public service. Senators and House members are elected to be our representatives to the federal government. They are our intermediaries between ourselves and Washington. If we have a problem with obtaining a passport, getting a response from a far-off federal agency or an answer about Social Security benefits, your local congressman is supposed to be there to help you, to help all of us, regardless of party.
For many years, the gold standard for constituent service in Georgia was the office of the late U.S. Rep. John Lewis. Even Georgians who didn’t live in Lewis’s 5th District would call his office for help, and in most cases would receive it. Set aside what you thought of his politics, Lewis took the idea of public service seriously, and his office reflected it.
That kind of grunt work isn’t for show ponies. It doesn’t get you an appearance on CNN or Fox News. It’s not something that you can easily put into a campaign ad, or use to impress donors. Yet it’s how the system is supposed to work, for all of us.
U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff, who interned with Lewis and views him as a mentor, has picked up that mantle of constituent service. I doubt Ossoff did it in hopes of political gain, but if so, fine. Good work deserves reward. But Ossoff has gained a reputation, among Republicans as well as Democrats, as someone who is reachable and effective. And people have noticed.
Take Scott James Matheson, a self-described “hard-core conservative” who serves as mayor of Valdosta, in deep-red south Georgia. Matheson has endorsed Ossoff for re-election, citing Ossoff’s willingness to work to help the people of Valdosta even though few likely voted for him.
“I will take heat for this endorsement, and it doesn’t matter,” Matheson told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “There’s no way I can turn my back on this relationship.
“The voters put me in here to do a job, and that man has been absolutely incredible.”
Another south Georgia mayor, Julie Smith of Tifton, tells a similar story.
“I don’t have to track him down. He tracks me down,” Smith said. “He’s been very good to south Georgia, and in my nonpartisan role as mayor I have to look to someone who takes care of their constituents. I’m a Republican, but there are times when a person exceeds the party. They go above and beyond.”
Of course, not every politician takes that approach. In recent court filings, Trump administration officials were forced to admit that they had canceled $7.5 billion in federal grants to blue states, based solely on how those states had voted in the 2024 elections. Grants to red states were left untouched; grants to blue states were canceled. Administration lawyers acknowledged that none of the grants were canceled “based on any programmatic, statutory, cost-reduction or performance-based factor.” It was pure politics.
Disaster grants show a similar pattern. Blue states applying for emergency relief through FEMA have been far more likely to be rejected under Donald Trump, even when they meet every statutory and regulatory requirement for disaster assistance. Red states have had no such problem.
Is that how it’s going to be? Are government benefits going to be parceled out depending on loyalty to one particular party, to one particular person?
This goes beyond partisan politics. It’s about who we are as a people, as a nation. It’s about whether we still function as a nation in the first place.
“We the people … in order to form a more perfect union ….”
That’s still the goal, right? We have plenty of things to fight about, and seem to invent new ones out of thin air all the time. But we are all still Americans, equal under the law and Constitution, what John Lewis referred to as “the beloved community.”
Right?
Georgia Recorder is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Georgia Recorder maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Jill Nolin for questions: info@georgiarecorder.com.