We Have Been Here Before

In what the press called Kamala Harris’ “closing argument” at a rally on the Elipse in front of the White House last Tuesday, she said “America is the greatest idea humanity ever devised.”

Meh.

A government that is truly of its people, by its people, and for its people…? That is, indeed, a brilliant idea. And that was never the idea of America. It has always been a government of the white, Christian, able-bodied, heterosexual, educated, land-owning white men, by the white, Christian, able-bodied, heterosexual, educated, land-owning white men and very much for the white, Christian, able-bodied, heterosexual, educated, land-owning white men.

Those who don’t fit that bill have been engaging in this so-called “greatest idea” in ever-greater numbers as time has gone on… and those white, Christian, able-bodied, heterosexual, educated, land-owning white men are nervous about it as our shares grow larger, louder, and better-equipped. It’s slipping out of their hands. Their great idea is being exposed for the oppressive, power-hoarding, angry, sad charade of conquest and exclusion that it’s always been.

The emperors have been playing strip poker—and losing.

The idea of the future that guides the rest of us is based on things that are much less breakable, far more enduring, and simply more honest:

·      We are building community.

·      We are demanding autonomy and access and connection to, for, and with each other.

·      We are educated.

·      We are wise and engaged in ways that go far beyond institutions of higher learning and the vaunted halls of commerce where competition and backbiting reign.

·      We are willing and able to learn from history.

·      We are amplifying mutuality.

·      We understand that wealth and abundance are for sharing, for nourishing, for growing together for the good of all.

Zero sum calculations have no place in our vision. We know in our very cells that we all do better when we all do better.

I don’t know what will happen on Tuesday in this incubator of the idea on which the United States continues to attempt to pride itself. This nation of competing ideas and realities is at yet another crossroads. What I do know is that we must press on, regardless. The rancor, the division, and the veil of hate that have fallen over this country are an illusion. We must not believe them, fuel them, react to them. They are the most pernicious lies perpetrated by small, scared people who can’t imagine being truly alive and knowing themselves or their neighbors deeply.

Yes, we the lovers, the community-builders, the truth-tellers have been somewhat complacent or at least our collective voice has been too quiet perhaps, but we have been awake, and we have been here all along, watching and working. We have been preparing, we have been building. We are ready. The men who cling to this dream of money, power, exclusion, and oppression of “others” will not win. Nor will the women who have followed them blindly into surrender of their own selfhood. These frightened beings will have small victories on their way to ultimate failure. We know this, but we must not be discouraged by these small victories. They, too, are an illusion through which we must continue to help each other see. We must remember the power and endurance of the long arc.

I don’t pretend that liberation lies on the other side of some well-crafted memes and a few protest marches. Our very existence is, indeed, at stake. It will be difficult, and we will endure hardship. Of this, I have no doubt. And we are not strangers to hardship. We do not shrink from it or because of it. It has shaped us, emboldened us, given us purpose. And yes, let’s take a few moments here and there to acknowledge our rage and our disappointment. Let us grieve as we wish that we could simply live our lives instead of constantly fighting for them. And then, let’s pull ourselves and each other back together and keep going.

According to the interwebs, Harriet Tubman often said, "I never run my train off the track and never lost a passenger.” Stay on this train, friends. The track is sound, and we will not only keep each other on board, but we have room for those who want to hop on in the darkness as we ride through the night to a place of connection and community. I, for one, believe that this imperfect nation will stand up for its chance to keep trying. I hope we get to do it under Kamala Harris’ watch, but we will do it either way. We must.