On Tuesday November 7, we will collectively test the spiritual strength of our democratic republic. We will test the strength of the true American dream against forces antithetical to it--forces favoring theocracy, authoritarianism, and economic devastation, which we have come to identify as right wing. More than at any time since at least McCarthy, and perhaps going back as far as the Civil War, we are now facing the temptations that confront any liberal democracy from time to time. When we are prepared to allow efficiency and security to rise as greater concerns than the rights, duties, and privileges of freedom--including patience with its necessary workings--the greatest dangers to our democracy appear evident.
I am not optimistic we will pass; in fact, I suspect this election like no other will trigger a crisis. The country is awash in deep political suspicion, so any outcome will create accusations of fraud and a deep sense of disenfranchisement. Fraud is always a problem, but the growing sense of disenfranchisement among the people constitutes spiritual crisis. Either the people rise up to insist upon the cures, or they collapse into passivity and the sense of hopeless futility. Many were near that point after the 2004 election. With all the new problems today, the depth of the national despair is palpable, could be far worse for the country, and may be truly dangerous.
For all the demonization of liberals and liberalism by right-wing commentators, they never put forward a clear alternative. The reason? There aren't any acceptable alternatives, and they know it. Fascism, despotism, and communism all failed in Europe over the last century. Now, we have Christian fundamentalists proposing theocracy, neoconservatives setting the stage for one-party autocratic rule, and certain corrupt corporate leaders favoring corporate-state fascism. These are the alternatives, but when the right-wing commentators criticize liberalism, no one ever asks: If not liberalism, what are you for? It is a question they dare not answer.
Whoever you may favor in this election, bear in mind the consequences as the controversies unfold over election results. We all want our candidate to win. But our collective challenge, the one we all share and have a stake in, is not about who actually wins--it is about how they win and take office. Our collective challenge is to push all toward enfranchisement, a stronger sense of the process and its authenticity and integrity. Rise to this challenge, and the American dream of liberty will shine again. Fail it, and we become democracy in name only--the name used to justify, ratify, and cover the imperial monster living in our collective American soul.
Check out my forthcoming book Call to Liberty: Bridging the Divide Between Liberals and Conservatives. I regularly blog at http://www.calltoliberty.net. This post was cross-posted there.