Calling for a United America post midterms- a Vermont opinion

Published in The Vermont Standard, Forum section, November 8, 2018 by opinion journalist Jennine Guttman

With Election Day finally behind us, we can all breathe a sigh of relief. The 2018 midterm campaign will stand as one of the most dysfunctional and dangerous national political spectacles to ever take place in the United States.

Make no mistake: The ugly, racialized tone of Tuesday’s elections was deliberately set. Its aim was to sow permanent division, disillusionment, tribalism, and political schisms across America. Much of the blame for this corrosive political strategy lies with President Trump, who reveled in its disturbingly toxic atmosphere.

As individual American citizens, it now falls to us to mend the post-election divisiveness and heal the self-inflicted wounds of this chaotic President.

Our task will be daunting, for much damage has been done. “Trump ratchets up racially divisive messages in a bid to rally support in the midterms,” read a Nov. 1 headline in The Washington Post. The article noted that Trump, along with many Republican candidates, chose to dramatically escalate efforts “to take advantage of racial divisions and cultural fears in the final days of the midterm campaign, part of an overt attempt to rally white supporters to the polls and preserve the GOP’s congressional majorities.”

The President cynically sought to paint a slow-moving trek of dispossessed migrant families, mostly women and children walking from southern Mexico toward the United States, as an “invasion.” He ordered 15,000 active military personnel to guard the U.S.-Mexico border, suggested that Mexican peasants throwing rocks would be shot, and promised “massive tent cities” to indefinitely hold migrants seeking legal refugee status.

U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., denounced Trump’s tactics. The refugees, who will not reach the border for months, are “not an imminent threat,” Leahy said at a Burlington press conference. “What could possibly be imminent? Maybe the elections on Tuesday?”

Vermont Senator Patrick Leahy

Trump’s blatant fear-mongering and myriad outrageous lies are shockingly un-American. Where past administrations would have seen an unfolding humanitarian crisis requiring a compassionate, peaceful response of aid and comfort, Trump saw a frightful invasion that warranted a massive U.S. military reaction. Channeling McCarthyism, Trump recklessly told rally supporters last week: “If you don’t want America to be overrun by masses of illegal aliens and giant caravans, you better vote Republican.”

Although the election is over, Trump remains. There is little hope that Trump will alter his agenda, pivot from hyper partisanship, and take positive steps to restore our nation. This reality represents a dramatic sea change in America politics. Traditionally, generations of Americans looked to the presidency for national guidance in times of disagreement and social upheaval. Historically, White House messages have stressed unification and reconciliation, emphasizing our common bonds and shared values as Americans, while diminishing perceived differences. The democratic principles that form this nation’s foundation always held sway over petty politics, ephemeral personality cults, and episodic disputes. We never forgot who we were.

But today, nearly two years into this presidency, it is clear that Trump lacks the empathy, commitment, and courage to govern America as a united nation. Indeed, the divisions and acrimony of Trumpian policies are not design flaws; they are intended features, and their harm is likely to increase.

That is why Vermonters cannot look to President Trump or to his Administration to repair the social damage and salve political battle scars. We cannot rely on Trump to chart a bright, unified future. Instead, it falls upon individual Vermonters and citizens across the United States to come together as the American family. We must look to ourselves, our neighbors, our villages and towns, and our local civic leaders to again reunite us as one nation, indivisible.

We must remember who we are. Our seasonal political labels do not define us. We are more than Democrats, Republicans, or Independents. We are more than liberals, conservatives, or progressives.

We are Americans.

We are one nation.

While Donald Trump is seemingly doing everything possible to divide us, eagerly pitting neighbor against neighbor, it is time for us, as individuals, to rally together as Americans. It is time to join hands, connect hearts, and stand as one. We citizens must reclaim our shared heritage as proud residents of these United States.