With Election Day (Nov 5, 2024) approaching, imagining the outcome can feel daunting, even to the most seasoned among us.
Case in point: this year, we face an election between two very different candidates. Many think that it’s an easy decision with some describing it as a choice between a “normal” person (whatever you think of her politics), and someone who couldn’t get hired at a McDonald’s. Yet it is a hard call. Not hard for each of us, perhaps, but hard for the country as a whole. For whatever reason (and theories abound), for better or for worse, most people see this race as clear and cut-and-dry, whether they see things the way we do or very differently. And many of us will experience unrelenting heartburn from now until Election Day, or even Inauguration Day.
There is no use lamenting, and there is no profit in berating, belittling, or otherwise demeaning our fellow citizens who don’t see this race the way we do. Instead, it is our task—as those concerned about the future of democracy —to make every effort to empathize with them and try to understand where they are coming from, and to help find some common ground. We must remember to approach these voters with openness. If they genuinely know something about this race or the candidates involved that has escaped us and that would cause us to view things differently, we should want to know that. I, for one, am skeptical that there is any such information out there, but I say let those who would like to make the case for the other candidate try to do so—I don’t think it can be done, but I will listen respectfully. And if, having listened kindly and patiently, those supporters of the former president, or the significant number of undecided voters, have failed to persuade us, then we must be persistent in pressing our case. More than that, we must be relentless (and relentlessly charitable) in our advocacy for truth, justice, and the American way.
Why? Because there is more at stake than just our personal comfort. More than just our policy preferences—indeed, more even than just our lives. At stake is the life of this nation and everything it has stood for over the course of nearly two and a half centuries. It may sound cliche to those of us who were raised with this notion, but America truly is unique. Even the briefest study of history shows quite clearly that power makes monsters out of men, and in turn brings misery upon the masses, who all too often have not had the means to easily change their circumstances. Our Founders realized that the solution to that age-old problem is not to find the right man to wield power, but to trust no man (or woman) with that kind of power. They realized that the only way to enshrine virtue in the conduct of human affairs is to recognize that we are all human, all fallible, and that power tends to corrupt all those who wield it—especially those who have no regard for their own shortcomings. That is why our Constitution places such limits on our leaders and why we must only elect leaders who understand and respect those limits.
What a rare gift we have been given as Americans. Yet human memory is short and it is hard to keep a republic when so many citizens neglect the study of history. In some ways, it is fitting, too, that so many seem not to have appreciated the gift of democracy, as we so often neglect and devalue those gifts that are most dear to us—it is so easy to fall into the trap of thinking that that’s just the way the world is, because it seems so obvious that that is the way the world should be. Yet the truth is that nothing in the world of human affairs happens without conscious and concerted effort on the part of hundreds and thousands and millions of people, people who care about something greater than their own narrow self-interest, people who care about their nation and everything it stands for. You and I are among those hundreds and thousands and millions of people, and it is our task to defend this most precious gift of democracy that our forefathers bequeathed to us, and to help our fellow Americans understand the gravity of this election, and the consequences of their vote for its future. To remind them of what they have forgotten: the historical uniqueness of America and the historical ease with which societies can slip into autocracy and dictatorship.
As de Tocqueville famously said, “America is great because she is good”. In this era of frayed social unity, it now falls to us to be the living embodiment of that truth, the proof positive that the the people of this country still believe in freedom and democracy; that Americans will still stand up for what is right, no matter the cost; that this nation is still worth believing in—in short, we must make America good again. And make no mistake, this moment is calling us. America is calling us. She is calling us to be the alarm bell of history for our fellow citizens. She is calling us to lead, to lead with strength and courage and determination, to lead with compassion and empathy and profound humility. She needs us in this moment. Our fellow citizens also need us, whether they recognize it or not. And we must not fail them. The fact that we are here, each of us involved in our own small way in this titanic struggle is proof of the urgency of that need. After all, would most of us phone bank and write postcards and knock on doors sheerly for the joy of it? Well, now comes the real test of our convictions. Do we mean what we say when we say we love our country? When we say we love democracy? If so, now is the moment to answer the call of history. Now is the moment to take action, to stand up and be counted among the ranks of those who know what it truly means to be an American. Together, we can and will remind our fellow citizens and the world of what the United States of America truly stands for. Together, we shall lift up this hurting nation and help it live up to those immortal words of that Great Emancipator and demonstrate beyond all doubt that, on our watch, government of the people, by the people, for the people shall not perish from the Earth.
So stand up and be counted this Election Day. We will be standing right there with you, every step of the way.
Post submitted by John Reid, a volunteer with The Union.
Note: The views and opinions expressed by volunteer contributors are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the positions of The Union, a single-issue organization that welcomes all and is dedicated to protecting democracy.
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Beautifully written, thank you for inspiring me! :-)