The Better Angels of Our Nature

Those angels have come to call

Abraham Lincoln appealed to those angels.

Because I’m an old guy, sometimes I get asked about the past. Everyone seems to agree that things are pretty bad these days: divisiveness, polarization, the rancor, the name-calling, the clashing versions of events, the alternative facts, and the non-stop, round-the-clock us versus them. 

Was it this bad back then?

Well, I remember the assassinations of the sixties, the anti-war protests disrupting campuses across America, the “race-riots” and cities on fire, the resignation of the President, the “generation gap,” the white flight, the order to desegregate the schools, armed national guard troops patrolling the streets, the proliferation of private (white) schools, and so on. Our nation has long been at odds. It was nasty back then. It still is.

But for Lincoln? Seven states (SC, MS, FL, AL, GA, LA, and TX) all seceded from the Union after Lincoln was elected and BEFORE his inauguration. The “new nation” appointed their own new President (Jefferson Davis) and moved him into his presidential home in Montgomery, Alabama (the new Capital of the Confederacy) all before Lincoln gave his inaugural address. In it, Lincoln appealed to all Americans: “We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies…”  He called on “the better angels of our nature.”

The brutal war followed. Apparently in 1861, our nation was incapable of hearing from those better angels.

With difficulty, I watched the Republican National Convention, including the Orwellian speech of the nominee’s son, Eric. He was called upon to introduce his father, who followed with that interminable “acceptance speech” on the final night. “Our nation is going to Hell,” we were told. It was the theme of the convention. The Trumpian worldview is a dystopian vision of our country and our future. The economy is in free fall. Inflation is out of control. Crime is rampant. We are invaded by terrorists, criminals, and rapists - the world’s asylums are emptying and their escapees are transported right across our borders, wreaking havoc in our cities and suburbs. We are on the verge of World War III. The nations are laughing at us. Our wealth and security are disappearing. If “they” are elected, we won’t have a country anymore. But if we will just (re)elect the Republican nominee, he’ll fix it all in short order.

This week, the Democratic Convention’s mood is markedly different.

It’s a reminder that our country is filled with good people. We care for one another. We may look different. We may have differing views of religion. Our family traditions may vary. But our communities thrive. We play baseball, host classic car shows, fill concert arenas, wait in line to get into our favorite restaurants. Educators, coaches, and counselors bring life and hope and direction to a new generation. Physicians care for patients. Firefighters put out the flames. Law enforcement cares. When the storm comes, neighbors step up, clean up, and rebuild. We are a nation filled with empathy, compassion, and mercy… working toward justice.

The Democratic National Convention represents a world-view on the opposite end of the spectrum from the RNC. It’s a striving toward a more perfect union. It’s a joyful celebration of what is good and right. It is vision-casting a future characterized by what is best in America.

But it’s also a calling out. It’s telling the truth about the dangers of that nightmarish Trumpian view of the world perpetuated by a steady stream of falsehoods, misrepresentations, and insults.

I can’t get enough of it. It’s what I’ve been waiting for. Hoping for.

It’s troubling that many of my friends are tuned out. They are missing it. And even if they watched, they are programmed to discount, dismiss, and distrust. “I would never vote for any candidate that is not Pro-Life,” said Southern Baptist educator and theologian, Albert Mohler. A high school student told me, “Joe Biden is a socialist.” (He’s a graduate of a week-long summer “Biblical World-View” Camp.) Others will say those godless, unAmerican, communist, Marxist Democrats are destroying the country. Those liberals accept LGBTQ and same-sex marriage. “They’ll never, ever get my vote.”

These are some of the reasons half the nation will not hear Michelle’s compelling speech. They didn’t hear Mesa Arizona’s Republican Mayor John Giles grieve over the hijacking of his party. He eloquently claims country over party and supports the Harris/Walz candidacy. They missed Barack. They missed Second Gentleman, Doug Emhoff.

And tonight, they’ll miss Governor Tim Walz.

It’s not too late. C-Span has it all on demand.

The better angels of our nature have come to call. 

It’s time to listen.