The Greatest Gift

Can we accept the truth?

“The greatest gift is the moment of realization—the fragile instant when we see clearly, beyond the surface of things, into the heart of meaning.”

M Scott Momaday

America needs a moment of realization; we need that greatest gift. People who still support Trump and MAGA need the gift. With only days left, America needs a miracle. It is surreal that the Presidential election is a 50-50 contest. It is surreal that - Ted Cruz may be reelected. Rick Scott may be reelected. Marjorie Taylor Greene may win. Kari Lake may win. Control of both the Senate and the House are toss-ups. With clear choices before us, the election should be a blow-out in favor of Democrats up and down the ticket. 

The truth about this election, especially this election, is that the outcome will define us as a country, but win or lose, our individual vote will define each of us. And so, we are standing in a moment of choice, an incredibly obvious choice. While this has always been true, the wide gulf between the respective visions of America defines us more clearly than at any other time in our history. 

Most of us remember a different America, one that despite our massive failures like slavery and racism and too many others to count, as a people we stood together as Americans when we needed to and strived to be better. We have always been divided between liberals and conservatives, but we have been civil to each other. Those days are gone. 

The anger, the hate, the hostility, and the violence originate from the right, from Trump, MAGA, the Proud Boys and others like them. The right uses the false equivalency of legitimate protests to justify their violence - Kyle Rittenhouse murdering two people in Wisconsin - a man driving his car into protestors in Charlottesville killing one - the January 6 assault on the Capitol - a rabid policeman’s knee on the neck of George Floyd. See this clearly. Protests are valid in democracy. Violence and murder are not. We see which side of the political divide participates. Fires in election drop boxes. Harris/Walz signs slashed. All the false equivalency arguments by one side to justify their hate filled actions will never make it right. 

Kamala Harris spoke to the nation last night. Her message is both powerful and a clear expression of American ideals. Freedom. Cooperation. Compromise. Respect for those who disagree. Inclusion. Openness. Kindness. Her message in an American message in the spirit of Roosevelt and Reagan, of Eisenhower and Clinton, of Obama and Bush. Her message was an American message in the spirit of every President, Democrat and Republican since Lincoln. Trump is the outlier, the aberration, one that is shockingly un-American. 

The symbolism of Harris’ speech from the Ellipse is powerful. American is a nation built on symbols. The American Flag. The National Anthem. The Pledge of Allegiance. The White House. The Lincoln Memorial. The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. War memorials and cemeteries all over the world - places made sacred by the deaths of young Americans fighting to protect and preserve American ideals. The Capitol. Trump has desecrated too many of these powerful symbols and when he does, every time he does, he both weakens America and tells us exactly who he is. We should see him, listen to him, and understand who and what he is.  

He is the man who stood on a stage and mocked a disabled man. This action alone should have been enough. He is the man who said it was OK to grab a woman by the pussy. He is the man who stood beside his Chief of Staff, 4-star General John Kelly at an American cemetery and asked what was “in it,” for them, calling them suckers and losers. He said this to a career Marine who lost his son in Afghanistan. This is the man who sent a rabid band of his followers to desecrate the sacred confines of the Capitol. Any one of these would be enough to destroy any other politician. We all know this is true. 

Most Republicans know this truth. Still, they are willing to set this aside and vote for him. Why? Too many say they simply cannot vote for a Democrat. The truth is that in this election, to vote Democrat is to vote for America. To vote Democrat even if it is for this one election is to vote for Ameria over a party that has left the America we love behind.