THAT RIPPING, TEARING SOUND

"It will take a lot more time to understand the full implications of what happened in America on November 8.  But one outcome is already clear:  Half of Americans are convinced their country is on a steadier path, and the other half are filled with fear and despair about its future.  Half think they have avoided catastrophe; the other half know they have collided with it head-on."
                                                                                   Laila Lalani
                                                                                   THE NATION   11/28/2016

  Had the other side won, this statement would still be true.  Our country is really The Divided States. Despite the obvious sameness shared by all human beings, the American people are divided into two oppositional camps.  Not since the Civil War have we witnessed such division.  We are beyond mere disagreement over public policy.  We are at a fighting point about what our nation stands for, and what our leadership needs do about it.  Although we all must eat, drink, sleep and die--though we all want to raise happy families and live with dignity and respect--we are sundered as a people between two absolute opposites, with no room, even in this vast land, for the twain to meet.  Peaceful co-existence is impossible.
   Any thoughtful person knows that all-or-nothing attitudes are deadly to free societies.  What are we to do?  Some Californians entertain the fantasy of secession, just as some Texans did four years ago.  But we are the United States, no matter how divided we might be within our borders.  There is no escape.  We have to deal with each other.
   Since the election was roughly equal (the losers, as we all know, actually got more votes) some cautionary compromise on the part of the winners would be welcome.  But no one expects compromise.  How do we partially privatize Social Security?  Or build half a wall?  Ban some abortions?  Is climate change half real, and half hoax?  The list goes on:  Obamacare, torture, money in politics, marijuana, guns, voting laws...we disagree on so many vital social, economic, and political issues.  Compromise is not going to happen because each side is, for better or worse, thoroughly convinced of the righteousness of its beliefs.
   Compromise is a boring, uncomfortable process, which leaves neither side satisfied.  However, it is essential to governing a free society.  Governing on a daily basis requires unceasing compromise.  This is the duty that "We the People" took on when we decided to dispense with the Divine Right of Kings.  It is a grown-up decision, and as adults know, nobody gets his own way all the time.  The nature of maturity is acceptance of the mundane necessity of compromise.
    Yet no one expects compromise.  In the first place, the winning side won everything, under the laws:  House, Senate, and Presidency.  The Supreme Court will soon be irrevocably in its grasp.  The losing side has some justified claims of foul play, but these claims will be ignored.  We would like to look for generosity from the winners, but absolute power corrupts absolutely.  Nor should we expect the losers (who represent the actual majority, and who still hold some potent resources) to grovel in hopes of mercy.  Had the election gone the other way, the situation would be the same.  If the winners are seeking to govern effectively, they must extend the peace offerings, and there is no evidence that they will do any such thing.
   The losers might seek solace in the fact that, despite the pledges of party and national unity since the election, the wining side is led by people who loathe and mistrust one another.  This is a false hope.  The personalities will jockey for power within their own ranks, but none will ally with the other side.  Whoever ultimately comes out on top will be more powerful than anyone was before.  Whoever gains complete power over the winners will not be considerate of the losers.
    The losers must dig in and fight.  The fight had better be non-violent, because the winning side has many guns, and the police.  And history proves that non-violence is actually effective in bringing about positive social change, while in most cases violence merely changes despots.  The victors will romp.  But if we would preserve anything of freedom for the future--not necessarily the next election cycle, but for some time in the dim, unforeseen future--we dare not surrender.  We are in for a long fight, and we need to be ready and willing to take beating after beating and still get back up.
   Long ago, in the polis of Athens, democracy was invented for only one reason:  none of the warlords could gain absolute power.  Finally tired of fighting, and seeing no side could really win, they decided to let people govern themselves.  By people, they meant warlords and their male relatives and friends.  But for mankind to make progress, people have to start somewhere.  We are still in the growing and learning process.  As Barack Obama reminds us, the line of history is not straight.  But the struggle for a freer, fairer history cannot stop.