Our democracy and our role as leader of the democratic world are in peril. This coming election, unlike those of not-too-distant memory, is not one between mere policies or parties—or even the fervid cultural divisions that so plague us. It is not even just between contempt for military service and respect for it, between gibbering nonsense and rationality, between infantile name-calling and actual seriousness. No, it is something much greater. It is a contest between the gift of a constitutional democracy our Founders bequeathed to us and those who wish to tear down and burn that gift for their own ends. Knowing what we now know, seeing what we have now seen, this election, more than any other since a civil war cleaved us in two, will be our ultimate test of national character. Passing that test is not at all assured. We have a choice, and whatever we choose, whatever the outcome of this vital contest, that is who we are, that is our national character. As others have noted, the outcome is no longer merely a question of Mr. Trump’s character. It is now a question of ours. We are predominantly either a people whose values are still allied with a core of honor and decency, or we are a people whose values have become allied with a core of rot and sickness. Let us listen to conscience, let us rise to our better selves, let us choose honor and decency. Let us choose this not just for this moment, but for our future and for our children and our children’s children.
(Also posted on Facebook September 23, 2024)
John Rachal's Blog
National Character
October 1, 2024 at 6:02 pm (Ethics, Political Commentary)
Our democracy and our role as leader of the democratic world are in peril. This coming election, unlike those of not-too-distant memory, is not one between mere policies or parties—or even the fervid cultural divisions that so plague us. It is not even just between contempt for military service and respect for it, between gibbering nonsense and rationality, between infantile name-calling and actual seriousness. No, it is something much greater. It is a contest between the gift of a constitutional democracy our Founders bequeathed to us and those who wish to tear down and burn that gift for their own ends. Knowing what we now know, seeing what we have now seen, this election, more than any other since a civil war cleaved us in two, will be our ultimate test of national character. Passing that test is not at all assured. We have a choice, and whatever we choose, whatever the outcome of this vital contest, that is who we are, that is our national character. As others have noted, the outcome is no longer merely a question of Mr. Trump’s character. It is now a question of ours. We are predominantly either a people whose values are still allied with a core of honor and decency, or we are a people whose values have become allied with a core of rot and sickness. Let us listen to conscience, let us rise to our better selves, let us choose honor and decency. Let us choose this not just for this moment, but for our future and for our children and our children’s children.
(Also posted on Facebook September 23, 2024)
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