A Time for National Redemption

Reclaiming Integrity and Justice

Redemption, at its core, is the idea of making amends, seeking forgiveness, and moving toward a higher ideal after a period of wrongdoing or failure. We are in that place. On a personal level, it involves confronting one’s mistakes, acknowledging harm caused, and committing to change. In a modern political context, national redemption requires similar actions but on a grander scale—requiring a collective reckoning with a country's past and present injustices. In America, the idea of redemption is fraught with complexity. Can a nation built on contradictions, such as the ideals of freedom and equality alongside the realities of slavery, racial violence, and systemic inequality, truly "redeem" itself?

The answer lies in the ongoing struggle to face these historical wrongs and the willingness to actively pursue justice and equity. Redemption isn't simply about nostalgia for an imagined past; it is about the difficult work of transformation in the present. For America, collective redemption must come from the efforts of ordinary citizens. Political leaders can set the tone and create policies that foster reconciliation, but it is the everyday actions of people—voting, engaging in community activism, standing up for marginalized voices—that make real progress possible.

National redemption involves more than rhetoric; it demands accountability and sustained effort from all levels of society. As we face this election, America’s ability to redeem itself will depend on whether enough of us are willing to confront the uncomfortable truths of its history and take the necessary steps to build a more just and equitable society. Only then can the nation achieve the kind of redemption that mirrors the idealized vision of the American Dream—a vision that is as much about creating a better tomorrow as it is about correcting the failures of yesterday.

What does it mean to seek “National Redemption?” What would reclaiming integrity and justice mean to each of us, and what would it mean for our country? A powerful concept, one of our most powerful cultural foundations comes to mind. The Adamic Myth, deeply rooted in American culture and literature, suggests that both individuals and nations can return to a state of innocence, akin to Adam before the Fall in the Bible. It embodies the idea of redemption through a 'new beginning' or a 'second chance' to live by higher ideals. In national contexts, this myth symbolizes a longing to restore integrity, justice, and the nation's foundational principles. 

Both presidential campaigns respond to and work inside the cultural imperative demanded by the Adamic Myth to return, to return to “better days,” to return to an “idealized” image of America. However, this is where the comparison ends. There are two ways to attain fulfillment according to the Adamic Myth and the two presidential campaigns choose the opposite. 

When I think of Trump/Vance, I remember Hazel Motes. Motes, the protagonist of Flannery O'Connor's Wise Blood. After his return from military service, he embarks on a negative attempt to find redemption through an inversion of the Adamic Myth, where instead of returning to an original state of grace, he attempts to destroy it and create something radically different. For Hazel, redemption takes the form of rejecting conventional salvation. He establishes the "Church Without Christ," a nihilistic anti-religion in which he attempts to deny the need for redemption, innocence, or any sense of original sin. He seems oddly prescient of the evangelical movement of today. 

The Trump/Vance campaign is harsh and negative in its vision of what America has been, what it is now, and what it will and should be moving forward. While this negative approach to campaigning is not unique to Republican campaigns of today, the depth and divisiveness of their nihilistic national and world view is in stark contrast to the campaigns authentic Republican like Reagan - “Morning in America”- and George H W Bush - “city of light” and “a kinder, gentler nation.” The current message of Trump/Vance and MAGA is that America might have been great in the distant past, it has fallen from its greatness, and only through them can it be great again.  

Hazel Motes’ rejection of traditional salvation mirrors the way Trump/Vance reject positive notions of American exceptionalism, choosing instead to destroy or radically alter the vision of the nation. Reagan’s “Morning in America” ads are among the most successful political ads in history, and when one compares them to the apocalyptic rhetoric in the Trump/Vance speeches, the total absence of policy, and their attack ads, the choice of negativity and destruction is clear. 

The destructive nature is not limited to their language in speeches and ads. The campaign advocates for and encourages violent action. There are many examples to consider, but the insurrection of January 6 is more than enough. Trump’s own words reveal him as exactly what he is, un-American, anti-American. The Trump quotes listed below all come from his speech on January 6 encouraging his fanatics to storm the Capitol to stop Congress from certifying his defeat in the 2020 election.  

• “We will never give up; we will never concede.”  

• “If you don’t fight like hell, you’re not going to have a country.”  

• “We’re going to walk down, and I will be there with you. We’re going to walk down… to the Capitol.”  

• “You’ll never take back our country with weakness. You have to show strength, and you have to be strong.”  

Our national memory is littered with other examples, The unmasked Klansmen in Charlottesville shouting, “Jews won’t replace us! Jews won’t replace us!” The hundreds of traitors storming our Capitol shouting “Nancy, Nancy, Nancy and Hang Mike Pence” all the while trashing Congressional offices and defecating on floors and desks. All the while, Trump blithely watched from the White House, hoping they would succeed. Now he calls them victims, hostages, and pledges to pardon the 900 convicted on various charges. Kyle Rittenhouse, the darling of MAGA and Republicans who shot three people, fatally wounding two, who recently threatened Gov. Tim Walz by saying, “Come and take it!” referring to the VP candidate’s stance on guns.  

Then, I think of Kamala Harris and Tim Walz, and I remember heroic Americans from all walks of life. I remember Franklin Roosevelt who stopped a terribly similar rape of the middle class and set America on a New Deal path that created a social safety net for citizens, won WWII, and built the strongest middle-class America has ever seen in post WWII. I remember the Warren led the Supreme Court who moved the country closer to the goals outlined in the Constitution by the Founding Fathers. I remember Lyndon Johnson fulfilling the dreams of John Kennedy by passing the Civil Rights bill and the Voting Rights Bill. I remember the Freedom Riders. All of this was possible because people chose the positive path to redemption for America, a redemption that America then as now, needed and needs. 

The Harris/Walz campaign aspires to an American Dream that may one day measure up to the inspiring words of our Founding Fathers. Their campaign and the campaigns of Democrats at large reject the idea that America needs to be torn apart, that it needs to recover its greatness. America, with all its faults and failures, has never been anything but great. Up to now, for every step backward, Americans have determinedly taken two steps forward. That is the America of Harris/Walz, the one with aspirations to simply be better. 

While I am an optimist, I am not an idealist. I know full well that Trump is a figurehead for the worst of us, for the sordid underbelly of America, the racist one, the misogynistic one, the xenophobic one. As I write this, I know full well that I am talking about neighbors, family, longtime friends, and co-workers. It disappoints and troubles me, but with the future of America in the balance, facing truth is necessary. As a country, as a people, those of us who are still true Americans must see the truth, speak the truth, and vote based on the truth. 

When Harris/Walz defeat Trump/Vance this November, hope will emerge again. America will have a chance, but only a chance. It will not be a complete and total victory. Be clear. Trump is simply a figurehead for a large, but dark and pessimistic part of our population. This will be Trump’s last campaign, but make no mistake, others will rise. JD Vance will not go away. Jim Jordan, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Josh Hawley and many, many others will walk into the future with us. So will those neighbors, family, longtime friends, and co-workers. Fox News will still be Foz News. Billionaires, expressing their maniacal greed will still support the jaded approach to governance the Republican Party expressed through Project 2025. 

Again, I am an optimist, but redemption is hard. Life teaches hard lessons, many times we are overwhelmed by the challenges life presents, and we become frustrated, bitter, and pessimistic. We see it in many people around us, and we see it in ourselves. As a nation, too many of us are frustrated, bitter, and pessimistic, and understand this; our nation is us.  

However, we are two kinds. Our vision is two kinds. Our hope or lack of it is two kinds. Our dreams for our children and grandchildren are two kinds. One is the odd and violent redemption of Hazel Motes’ Church without Christ, an America without the American Dream. The other is the optimistic journey to a national redemption that mirrors the words of our Founding Fathers and the American Dream that we all and our nation should reach for.