COLUMN: America shouldn’t let divisions be its fatal flaw
“If a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand”
Many welcome the conclusion of another busy election year. Finally, an end to all the debate. And to a certain extent, I’d agree. But, in a way I’ll miss the season.
You see, fall is such a beautiful time of year.
It’s funny how I always look forward to it, even though it only means the eventual onslaught of winter and yet another Cache Valley inversion.
The beauty of fall is only transitive at best. But yet, I love it each time it comes. I could walk through the mountains for hours on end just staring at the changing colors.
Honestly, I love everything about the mountains, but in fall, I tend to think most of the leaves.
I have a friend who says that “Fall is the time when leaves finally get to show there personalities.”
I like that. I like my friend too.
But then, the leaves fall. Some fall sooner than others, but eventually they all fall. Their bright colors eventually dim, and trees are left half-naked to face another winter.
With yet another presidential election splitting the popular vote nearly half and half, some see the nation as one embarking upon a winter of sorts. Many worry about division between political parties and the American electorate as a whole.
It seems these days that people tend to be more and more polarized, Democrats are becoming even more liberal and Republicans even more conservative.
But, must we always disagree? Sometimes I can’t help but think that, at times, we disagree just for the sake of disagreement.
Neal A. Maxwell, a prominent LDS leader, now deceased, once said, “There didn’t seem to be any problem with conformity the day the Red Sea opened.”
Conformity these days is almost considered a “hiss and a byword” by some, like it’s a sign of weakness or something.
But amidst such disagreement, one thing gives me hope.
You see, one of my favorite moments in any election is watching the losing candidates’ concession speeches. To accept defeat, to accept that people don’t think you’re good enough for the task at hand intrigues me.
It’s like finally finding that right one, only to have her tell you she doesn’t feel the same. What do you say? How do you react?
And yet, it is often these speeches that set the tone for public sentiment for months to come.
In one of the classier moments of the presidential election, Tuesday morning, Sen. John Kerry, after having been “rejected” by the American electorate, chose to concede. He could have fought it out in court like many thought he would, but instead he conceded.
“I did my best to express my vision and my hopes for America,” Kerry said. “We worked hard and we fought hard, and I wish that things had turned out a little differently. But in an American election, there are no losers, because whether or not our candidates are successful, the next morning we all wake up as Americans. That is the greatest privilege and the most remarkable good fortune that can come to us on Earth. With that gift also comes obligation. We are required now to work together for the good of our country. In the days ahead, we must find common cause. We must join in common effort, without remorse orrecrimination, without anger or rancor. America is in need of unity and longing for a larger measure of compassion.”
I think we all go through a few winters in our lives. Certainly, the Democratic Party is, as it struggles to find its own identity.
Failure and rejection can be a good thing, I believe. It allots for a second go of it, an opportunity to realize past mistakes and become better.
But we must never let our mistakes and shortcomings be cause for divisiveness.
You see, America is bigger than a John Kerry or a George Bush. America is bigger than a political party or anything else.
The strength of America lies within each American, and it’s our responsibility to keep it strong.
So, will winter come? To some it has. To some it will. But to the rest it can’t.
America must stay united and realize as the Frenchman Albert Camus put it that, “In the depths of winter, I finally learnt in me there was an invincible summer.”
Jon Cox is a junior majoring in print journalism. Comments can be sent to jcox@cc.usu.edu.