We now face a decision, in the words of Vice President Kamala Harris, that is “more just than a choice between two parties and two different candidates. It is a choice about whether we have a country rooted in freedom for every American or ruled by chaos and division.”

David McCullough reminded us that while we live in difficult times, so it has nearly always been.

“We think we live in difficult uncertain times. We think we have worries. We think our leaders face difficult decisions. But so it has nearly always been . . . It is said that everything has changed. But everything has not changed . . . We have resources beyond imagining, and the greatest of these is our brainpower . . . And we have a further, all-important, inexhaustible source of strength.  And that source of strength is our story, our history, who we are, how we got to be where we are, and all we have been through, what we have achieved.”

The Vice President laid out a strong closing argument after a whirlwind 100-day campaign that has provided the country with a clear choice: to go back to a past that never existed except in the romanticized version conjured by its advocates but that promises chaos and heartbreak ahead; or to move forward in a way that understands that we are all connected, a way that embraces humanity through solidarity with our fellow humans.

“Nearly 250 years ago, America was born when we wrested freedom from a petty tyrant. Across the generations, Americans have preserved that freedom, expanded it, and in so doing, proved to the world that a government of, by, and for the people is strong and can endure. And those who came before us—the patriots at Normandy and Selma, Seneca Falls and Stonewall, on farmlands and factory floors—they did not struggle, sacrifice, and lay down their lives only to see us cede our fundamental freedoms…only to see us submit to the will of another petty tyrant. 

These United States of America: we are not a vessel for the schemes of wannabe dictators. The United States of America is the greatest idea humanity ever devised: a nation big enough to encompass all our dreams, strong enough to withstand any fracture or fissure between us, and fearless enough to imagine a future of possibilities.” 

I love that last line: big enough to encompass all our dreams, strong enough to withstand any fracture or fissure between us, and fearless enough to imagine a future of possibilities.

But we can only fully realize such a future when we work together.

Brian McLaren writes about why seeking love through solidarity is so important at this time in our common life.

“If you choose solidarity, instead of pulling away from those you once suspected, avoided, vilified, or rejected, you see them as neighbors. You smile. You talk. You try to collaborate for the common good in whatever ways you can. When you disagree, as you must, you do so boldly but also graciously, not burning bridges, not breaking solidarity. They may be your opponents for the moment, but you don’t write them off as enemies.  

When you embrace solidarity, you embrace humanity, including Muslim, Jewish, Buddhist, Hindu, Sikh, humanist, and atheist humanity, and including the humanity of those Christians whose behavior consistently prompts you to ask if you can stand staying Christian for even one more second.” 

We are all connected, woven—as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said in his Letter from a Birmingham Jail—in an inescapable web of mutuality.

The Vice President has given us a new way forward. As she said on the night she accepted the nomination of the Democratic party:

“America, let us show each other—and the world—who we are. And what we stand for. Freedom. Opportunity. Compassion. Dignity. Fairness. And endless possibilities.

We are the heirs to the greatest democracy in the history of the world. And on behalf of our children and grandchildren, and all those who sacrificed so dearly for our freedom and liberty, we must be worthy of this moment. It is now our turn to do what generations before us have done. Guided by optimism and faith, to fight for this country we love.”

Let us reach for that future as we remember that the fight for democracy never ends.

More to come . . .

DJB

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NOTE: It comes as no surprise to regular readers that I support Vice President Kamala Harris. Like Alexandra Petri, the humor columnist at the Washington Post, I do so in part because I like elections and want to keep having them.

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Photo by Getty Images via Unsplash