Recently here on this board, a prominent supporter of Hillary Clinton wisely opined:
With that in mind, here are a few thoughts on what I believe, and how those beliefs will inform my vote for the next President of the United States.
I believe in the transformational power of America to better ourselves and the world. I believe that this transformational power rests with our constitution and our American ideals. In this election, I will cast my vote for the candidate who I believe is best suited to advance those ideals.
All of our nominees are intelligent, talented, capable progressive politicians. That is not the issue.
The policy proposals (which would better be termed “starting points” since all will be transformed to one degree or another in the legislative process) are notable more for their similarities than their differences. Health care, for example, is at or near the top of list of voter concerns, but minutiae of the various candidates' health care proposals is not the issue.
All of the candidates have notable, valuable life experiences they will bring with them to the Oval Office. Hillary Clinton, for example, asks voters to elect her in part because she’s lived and worked in the White House eight years. Yet I would note America has done well with Presidents who did not previously live and work with their spouses in the White House for eight years. Such “experience” has never been a criteria for selecting a President (indeed, no previous candidates could ever claim such experience).
The issue is larger than any individual candidate. The issue is America.
America survives only if she continually renews herself. These American renewals typically come after periods of great trauma. The first came with the founding of the nation, the Declaration of Independence, and the Constitution. The second great American renewal came after the civil war. The third came during the Great Depression, and was dubbed the “New Deal.” The fourth came during the 1960s following the repression of the McCarthy area and inflamed by a hugely unpopular war.
It’s been awhile since America has had her last great renewal, and there’s an urgency about it. You can feel it. It can be appropriately called, to borrow a phrase from the leader of the last great American renewal., “the fierce urgency of NOW.” What is to become of post-9/11 America? What new American phoenix will arise from the ash heap of history that is the collective American trauma of the last eight years? War. Civil discord. A nation divided. A constitution trampled upon. Torture. Lies.
How will America again transform herself, and make something beautiful again out of such ugliness? How can we even begin to even hope to accomplish such a task?
What’s next, and how do we get there? How should we begin to try?
Some of my favorite songs are those written by Robert Hunter, lyricist for the Grateful Dead. Many of his songs are about renewal and transformation. It’s also in the band’s visual artwork and imagery. One of their songs is called “The Wheel”:
“The wheel is turning and you can't slow down,
You can't let go and you can't hold on,
You can't go back and you can't stand still,
If the thunder don't get you then the lightning will.”
There’s a tension in those lyrics. It’s a tension between the past and the future. Something has got to give.
All Presidential elections are informed by the historical moment. The candidate who might be the best choice at one point in history will likely not be the best choice in another. Bill Clinton was a great President, but I would not vote for him today if he were able to run. The historical moment is calling for a more fundamental kind of break from the past.
Can you hear it?
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