There is a shameful and blatant effort afoot to suppress voting here in Georgia and other states. The ironically-named Republican party wants to suppress republicanism because the same ballots that made them a slight majority in the legislature also denied majorities to Trump and Loeffler and Perdue by a slight margin.
Our 2020 election cycle was the most secure and accurate since we left behind almost-purely in-person paper balloting, and probably more secure than even those because there is such close bipartisan (and non-partisan) monitoring nowadays. I was disappointed that we failed to overtake the GOP in the State House, in the Maine, Iowa, and North Carolina Senate races. Etc. But I was thrilled that we defeated the fascist that stained our White House for four years and his two sychophantic US Senators from Georgia. You win some and lose some in a republic.
Government of, by, and for We the People scares the hell out of the Trumpists. We live in a closely divided state and Capital-R Republicans are frightened to leave decisions in the hands of small-r republicanism. They are desperate to stop as many urban or black or hispanic voters from voting as they can.
So, why do they call themselves "Republicans"?
I have been a dedicated republican since fourth grade. I was busy reading the juvenile biographies of Washington and Jefferson and Adams and Lincoln. I took the Gettysburg speech seriously. Miss Matilda Brown taught us about We the People. Fourth grade was the year Ike ran for reelection in a rematch with Adlai Stevenson. Having just read the wartime biography of Ike that my parents had given me I was a passionate proponent of his re-election. He carried the nation easily, but he lost Miss Brown's fourth grade straw poll --- I only managed to find one other kid to join me in supporting Ike. Somewhere in the 1960s being a republican forced me to re-evaluate my party affiliation. It became obvious to me that though both major parties were certainly flawed, one was definitely more republican than the other.
Since that time the so-called Republican Party has drifted farther and farther from its name. The likes of Lee Atwater, Paul Manifort, and Roger Stone became its operatives; Newt Gingrich's purposely divisive tactics replaced the erudite William Buckley and courtly Ronald Reagan as its guiding light, all leading to its Trumpist takeover in 2015 and 16 and the bloody fascist attack on our electoral system of 2020-2021.
I’d bet Miss Brown taught how, in the ideal, our republican system of self government should work and taught that, in our system of self-government, “the people” must be informed, engaged and committed to “public virtue.” It’s a nice compliment to Miss Brown that some of your republicanism and commitment to activism, maybe, was propelled by her inspiration. I’m sure you had such impact on many children you taught.
ReplyDeleteIt’s useful to try to envision the ideal and lately I've been thinking that “We, the people” should be in the process of becoming “The Beloved Community.” Regardless of MLK’s use of the term, I’m embarrassed to say, that this is a term that had escaped my attention until I read it in John Lewis’s farewell essay. It’s a beautiful thought that at the center of our democracy should be a community of virtuous citizens committed to peace, love, and understanding — truth, reconciliation, liberty and justice.
This Sunday morning, I’m contemplating the thought that Christians — evangelicals and everyone seeking to live as Christ taught — should be at the forefront of transforming themselves into individuals ready for such a non-partisan Community and active in building such a Community.
I like the biblical expression “in the fullness of time” and surely the time is here when the eyes of Christians should be opened. I love the song you quoted for your Mom’s birthday — “The Love of God.” For such a time as this, Christians should be the leaders in showing love and in building unity and harmony — envisioning and working for a grassroots civic revival.
Your mission, should you accept, is to come up with a plan to bring the vision of this ideal to reality.
Thanks for the thoughtful comment and challenge, Mike.
ReplyDeleteWe talked about that song when we visited Mother last evening. Matter of fact I told her about seeing the Gaither video of centenarian George Beverly Shea singing it --- and so we hunted it up online and sang along with him. :-)
https://youtu.be/wGMyTq09GNs
Thanks. I listened to the you-tube. Very moving. George remembered all of the words and his voice is still amazing.
DeleteHe died several years ago at 104!!! He must habeennpast 100 when the video was made.
ReplyDelete