The Difference<\/a>), Tuesday\u2019s actions demonstrated that for a least a brief moment, no American is above the law.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\nSo when I woke up this morning, I guess I thought that somehow the world would be different. Somehow there would be a \u201csea change\u201d in American attitudes. Somehow, we took a step towards a future of less partisanship, and less divide. But I was wrong. Nothing was different.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Old Friends<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
I sat with two old friends a couple nights ago, talking about track and field (I was at a track and field camp), the Cincinnati Reds, and life. But even after the momentous legal events of that day (which we avoided) there was little change in the \u201ccrisis\u201d of politics. We spent a lot of time on the \u201cwoke culture wars\u201d, coming from opposite sides, looking for some \u201cmiddle ground\u201d. But we found little. Our conversation was amicable, and both sides reached out to each other. In the end, we drank our beer (Coors Light not Bud Light) and called it a night. Safer to talk about the intricacies of track technique.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And I received a message from another old friend, reacting to the events of that day. His thoughts seemed to have little hope, seeing the indictments as cementing the divide. I am reminded of Patrick Henry\u2019s speech to the House of Burgesses at the beginning of the American Revolution. \u201cGentlemen cry peace, peace, but there is no peace. The War is actually begun. The next gale that sweeps from the North shall bring to our ears the clash of resounding arms.\u201d <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\nHenry knew, as Caesar did crossing the Rubicon in open rebellion to Rome:\u00a0\u00a0\u201cAlea lecta est, The die is cast\u201d.\u00a0\u00a0History has passed a point of no return, there is no going back to other days.\u00a0\u00a0My old friend was sad, with little hope for an American future without divisiveness.\u00a0\u00a0There is no way back, and seemingly no way forward which avoids the hate, polarization, and rhetoric.\u00a0\u00a0For him, the indictments signal a new era of hate.\u00a0\u00a0He may well be right.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Whose History?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
The rest of Patrick Henry\u2019s speech charts his path forward into Revolution:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOur brethren are already in the field! Why stand we here idle? What is it that gentlemen wish? What would they have? Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, <\/em>give me liberty or give me death!<\/em>\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\nThe only way forward is through it, through the future. Like our \u201cold coaches\u201d conversation, there is really no middle ground. As President Biden is fond of saying, there is simply a \u201cbinary choice\u201d: Trump, MAGA, culture war; or Biden, \u201cwoke\u201d (whatever that means) and inclusion. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s kind of funny.\u00a0\u00a0Biden was the definition of a man of the middle, a Senator known for reaching out to the other party, a man who would eschew partisanship to get an idea into law.\u00a0\u00a0And yet he becomes the leader of what really is a culture war, a war in our society (so far) without guns, but a war nonetheless.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And it\u2019s also funny that the language of our history, from Patrick Henry to Abraham Lincoln will be used by both sides to defend their position. I guess the rebellious Confederates saw themselves walking in the father\u2019s footsteps, fighting a revolution against tyranny in Jeffersonian terms (even as they protected the most tyrannical institution of all, slavery). Washington, Jefferson, and Lee were literally their \u201ckin\u201d. And so \u201c\u2026 liberty or death\u201d could be the \u201cbattle cry\u201d of both sides of our looming \u201cwar\u201d, both sides of the \u201cbinary choice\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Flag<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
There is nothing more American than both sides of a struggle trying to wrap themselves in the \u201cflag\u201d. And while the Star Spangled Banner has become symbolic of Trumpism, the history of our Nation is also one of increasing rights and struggles for freedom. Black Lives Matter, the LGBTQ rights movement, the children marching against guns all are just as big a part of the American tradition as those that want to turn the clock (and calendar) back to the oppression of the 1950\u2019s. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
There were indictments on Tuesday. More will come, in Georgia, in Washington, DC, and now rumored in New Jersey (I guess everything isn\u2019t really legal in \u2018Jersey\u2019). While I see each indictment as a step forward towards justice and against corruption, my old friend is right. As each indictment is unsealed, it will further \u201cseal\u201d division in our Nation. And no one can know what the final outcome of that schism will be.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Indictment What did we expect?\u00a0\u00a0Tuesday, for the first time in the history of the United States, a former President was indicted on Federal criminal charges.\u00a0\u00a0While that was no moment of celebration, it should be one of some satisfaction.\u00a0\u00a0Regardless of the \u201ctalking points\u201d of Trump supporters (see Monday\u2019s essay \u2013 The Difference), Tuesday\u2019s actions demonstrated that … Continue reading “No Difference”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"everybody","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6463","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nNo Difference : Our America - 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