Our Constitution opens with the claim “We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union ...” But does this “we the people” claim hold true today? Our political parties across our history have contested fiercely for election victories. But now we face a set of midterm elections in which our sense of national unity has been intentionally shattered by many on one side.
As the midterm elections approach, we tremble because a number of Republican candidates for governor, U.S. Senate and state secretary of state continue to mouth the lie that Democrats stole the last election, that President Joe Biden is not our true president and that they, if elected, will refuse to ratify any future statewide popular vote count that swings Democratic. Donald Trump and so many in the Republican Party, who now genuflect to him, push a message that Democrats are bent on destroying America. This messaging is echoed nightly on Fox News.
But who are we really? America today has the world’s largest economy — annually roughly $23 trillion in gross domestic product — and the world’s strongest military fueled by spending roughly $800 billion per year, a sum greater than the next nine nations combined. Our diverse college and university system is the envy of the world, and our technological creativity and massive cultural outreach in literature, music, theater and films touch people worldwide. We are generally a creative and hardworking people.
