This has been a tough period in our collective life—and, honestly, it’s hard to see how it won’t get tougher in the weeks and months ahead. That includes elected Democrats debating internally and in the media at this late date about whether Joe Biden should continue to lead the nation for another four years. We also will continue to struggle with a MAGA Republican Party led by a deeply unwell man who has turned that faction into his own image—an endless outpouring of grievance and hostility toward our democratic institutions and the diverse people, policies and principles that conflict with their desired white Christian nationalist future. Throw into that troubled stew: a partisan Supreme Court no longer committed to justice and legal precedent, but a corrupt supermajority determined to strip away rights and turn the country backwards.
Yes, that’s a lot. And the Republican National Convention—which just wrapped up with a numbingly boring, historically long and predictably familiar collection of grievances and cruelty by Trump—vividly illustrated that their dark hunger for deportation and destruction of progressive achievements will only grow stronger as the election nears. Meanwhile, the Democratic National Convention looms in four weeks, its shape and outcome uncertain.
But rather than dig deeper into the political machinations of this moment, I’m urging us to reflect on what it’s all for. What do we want to achieve? What America do we want? On this Saturday, rather than dwell on the internal conflicts of Democrats and the despotic hostilities of an arrogant Republican faction, let’s remind ourselves of the better country that we are working to build. Let’s be nourished by that.
What are we really fighting for? Perhaps you want to focus on institutions like the Supreme Court actually pursuing justice and securing rights. Maybe you’d like to consider democratic procedures like free and fair elections in which poll workers need not worry about intimidation or violence, just ensuring the widest and fairest vote. Perhaps you’d prefer to emphasize American values and principles like freedom and equality—social, economic and racial—and the democratic promise of inclusion and greater well-being. Maybe you want to remind us of the need for positive, compassionate leadership and the continuing responsibility to help restore peace globally and create stronger alliances and more harmony.
As always, I look forward to reading your thoughts and observations and to this community learning from each other. Please do be respectful in your remarks. Trolling will not be tolerated.
*Photo by Hill Street Studios via Getty Images.
