A Gathering of All Goodness: Some Optimism in this Somber Political Moment
Originally published on the Bridge Alliance blog, as "Glimpsing a Silver-Lining in this Otherwise Gloomy American Moment"
Amidst the tumult of this perilous moment in the United States, could something surprisingly beautiful arise? Could this be the moment when good-hearted people across the political spectrum are forced to decisively come together - in defense of something perhaps more fundamental than ideological commitments of their respective parties?
If so, as I write in in this three-part series, it may start with recognizing the extent to which a profound disagreement has come to increasingly divide not only people identifying as "conservative" - but equally so among "progressives" too. In this first essay, "There are Two Kinds of Conservatives in the U.S.: Which Are You?" I make the case for a disagreement dividing conservatives arguably more important than whatever agreements they may have (about taxation, or family issues, for instance).
And in a parallel second essay, "There are Two Kinds of Liberals in the U.S.: Which Are You?" I show how this same essential disagreement is dividing progressive-leaning Americans. Against this backdrop, I then develop and raise a possibility more and more are feeling drawn towards right now in America: "Is It Time to Welcome a New Political Tribe on The Horizon?"
More than the long-discussed emergence of a new "third party," this exploration considers what might happen if all the goodness, truth and beauty across the political spectrum were to gather in a "coalition of the decent" that eschews the ugliness forcing itself on both major political parties. Rather than some kind of Utopian bluster, I argue here that these are practical, even urgent possibilities that Americans are being compelled to consider right now.