On the eve of the final voting in our quadrennial Presidential election, many feel anxious, nervous and even contentious.
Leaders, whether elected, appointed or rising to the top through performance, can be temped to sustain their positions by highlighting external threats.
Political contests especially bring out this tendency to identify internal or external “enemies” that should frighten us. These dangers might be foreign countries, economic uncertainties, governmental overreach, climate change, and sometimes even the character of one’s opponents. These risks become our “enemies” to be overcome and defeated.
Political campaigns are especially prone to this form of hyper rhetoric. Here are several observations, old and new, to help put this tendency in perspective. Because objectifying our worries may instead be revealing something about the inner voices we are paying attention to.
Do Enemies Make Us Whole?
Aspiring leaders efforts to persuade us to see external “enemies” has a purpose: to unite us behind someone or an entity which will protect our well-being and security.
However, what if these appeals just reflect internal confusions about shared values and purpose. Are these appeals more a reflection of an “enemy within,” an “uncertain soul,” as much as an external danger?
Decrying enemies is a common tactic to seek public support for a candidate or public action. The chorus lyrics of Andrew Bird’s Indie song Archipelago describes this as an attempt to “make us whole.”
Chorus
Whoa
We’re locked in a death grip and it’s taking its toll
When our enemies are what make us whole
Listen to me
No more excuses, no more apathy
This ain’t no archipelago, no remote atoll
Wisdom to Know the Difference
Leaders who p;oint out different social groups or “the other” in our midst to divide is a tactic as old as the country. It can be a short-term gambit to gain power. But It can damage future aspirations.
Here is a long-term perspective on the American democratic experiment by theologian Reinhold Niebuhr, a Reformed pastor, ethicist, commentator on politics and public affairs:
Nothing that is worth doing can be achieved in our lifetime; therefore, we must be saved by hope. Nothing which is true or beautiful or good makes complete sense in any immediate context of history; therefore, we must be saved by faith.
Nothing we do, however virtuous, can be accomplished alone; therefore, we are saved by love. No virtuous act is quite as virtuous from the standpoint of our friend or foe as it is from our standpoint. Therefore, we must be saved by the final form of love which is forgiveness.
Niebuhr’s most often quoted phrase or closing blessing is: Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.
Those words may be his challenge to us as we head to vote tomorrow.
No Man An Island
In most of life’s remembered moments, cooperation builds success, not domination whether personal or institutional.
All Souls Day (yesterday) is one of the times when a bell is rung as the names of those who have died are read aloud. This can occur in a religious service, reunion or other communal remembrance event. On these occasions the words of English poet John Donne are a reminder of our shared destiny:
For Whom the Bell Tolls by poet John Donne (1572-1631)
No man is an island,
Entire of itself.
Each is a piece of the continent,
A part of the main. . .
Each man’s death diminishes me,
For I am involved in mankind.
Therefore, send not to know
For whom the bell tolls,
It tolls for thee.
Winners and Losers Will Need Shared Purpose
After the voting results are counted, the imperative will be to revive the common individual and institutional journeys on which we are all joined. America faces very real challenges. Overcoming our own internal feelings of deep uncertainty or dread may be the most important first step. Hope must win.