Anybody who cares to observe the current presidential election campaign will tell you that we seem more divided as a country than ever before. The rhetoric across the spectrum, form left to right, is decidedly polarized. I never thought I’d see the day when casual friends and associates would excoriate me for my admittedly liberal perspective, even extending to invitations for me to leave the country if I do not agree with them. I have recently taken to being more circumspect before I post anything of a political nature to social media.
Much has been written about the demise of civility in political discourse, so I will not comment further other than to pose the question as to what kind of country do we want. Regardless of whether President Obama is re-elected or Mitt Romney takes the White House, how then shall we live as a people?
To those who wave their arms in alarm and who decry the end of the American experiment if their candidate loses, I submit that the United States will survive. Personally, I want to live in a country where the opinions of all are respected without resorting to exaggerated criticism or hyperbole. I want an America where either a dark-skinned president or a Mormon chief executive is given the deference his office deserves.
I want to live in a country where education and intellect are appreciated and encouraged, where truth-telling is practiced in the public square, and where full enfranchisement is the goal. I want us to be honest with one another in admitting that America was once the greatest nation on earth, but that we have slipped from that perch by almost any standard by which to judge such things. Having thus admitted that painful truth, I want us to unite in reaching that lofty place once more, with full access to health care, a good public education, and the encouragement of good, well-paying jobs.
Lastly, I want us to revisit the myth of America and harness the power it holds for all of us by not refusing to exegete the myth or revising it to fit our prejudices, but by embracing it for the truth it can be for all of us.I want us to recognize the limitations of our “Christian heritage” and work to build a more pluralistic society.
We can never hope to build a Utopia, but we can come closer to living in something that resembles community.
Raising Basileia 