Editorial: Our personal role in the 'battle for the soul of the nation'
As a presidential candidate, Joe Biden called the election of 2020 "a battle for the soul of the nation." Whether he ultimately wins the presidency or Donald Trump holds onto power, one thing about Biden's slogan is clear today: The battle is not over, and it won't be when a winner takes office. It really is just beginning.
As the possible next president, with wins in Wisconsin and Michigan, Biden indicated as much in an address Wednesday afternoon.
"I know how deep and hard the opposing views are in our country on so many things," he said. "But I also know this as well: To make progress, we have to stop treating our opponents as enemies."
His statement - in stark contrast to President Donald Trump's early-morning Wednesday rant accusing his opponents of trying "to steal the election" - evokes the challenge that confronts all of us regardless of which man ultimately holds the nation's top office.
The job will be much harder obviously if Trump holds on and remains committed to the mean-spirited, divisive manner that characterized his first term. But it remains a challenge each of us must embrace personally - in our homes, our neighborhoods, our communities and our places of work and worship - and not merely abdicate to some higher political figure.
Perhaps it's worth reflecting a moment on that idea of "the soul of the nation." For us, the "soul" that must be won is the foundational decency and kindhearted tolerance at the heart of our American democratic principles. True, those qualities have not always defined our politics. But without them, the dream of a nation of hundreds of millions of diverse individuals from disparate backgrounds with an unlimited range of needs and interests living, working and growing together in harmony is hopeless.
We must seek a nation committed to persuasion, not confrontation, and achieving that is going to require more from us than just to elect a president. For too long, we have neglected our personal commitment to the standards of respectful and honorable debate. We have satisfied ourselves with just winning, assuming that our goal is to manipulate the system to instill changes we want to see rather than to create changes that will move us all forward.
Biden offered real hope for a new direction in his speech Wednesday.
"We are not enemies," he insisted. "What brings us together as Americans is so much stronger than anything that can tear us apart."
That latter phrase has been much tested over time and brutally assailed over the past four years. But let us all prove worthy of it, no matter of who eventually holds the title of U.S. president. For, the real job before us is greater than electing a new leader. It's committing ourselves to the values and demands at the core of our nation's soul.