Our Republic II

I have been lax in my writing.  For months. In the spring I was inspired to delve into the meaning of our Republic, yet somehow during the course of the summer, I began to ask myself a question. I asked myself what good it would do. What good would it do as I watched the COVID pandemic reach astronomical proportions due to the president’s ineptitude?  What good would it be if many Americans, people who proclaim to be patriots, haven’t the first clue about or desire to learn about the foundations of this Republic?  I became disheartened for a while, wondering why I should delve into these issues at all if there was a potential (and still is as of my writing this) that it could mean nothing with the possibility of the Great American Experiment failing in the near future.

    Then I realized something. Something quite obvious. Something right before my eyes.  Our Republic has faced worse times. Our Republic has had the armies of a racially motivated rebellion quite literally at the gates of its Capitol,  yet it has survived.  Our Republic has been torn apart by a Civil War that resulted in previously unimaginable casualties and destruction, yet it rebuilt itself. Americans rebuilt it.  It was not rebuilt perfectly, not by a long shot, for that would assume it was a perfect Republic to start with.  It wasn’t.  But what America had was a foundation upon which it could build a better future, a better Republic, and a better model for the oppressed and unliberated peoples of the world still living under the yoke of monarchy and empire.  America had a foundation to continue the liberation of oppressed peoples even within its own borders - a liberation that continues to this day. 

So what is different now?  I don’t intend to draw a comparison between antebellum America and Donald Trump’s America (at least not at the moment) - but, suffice to say, such a comparison would be extremely complex, and we would likely find that what we are facing now, although prima facie seeming similar, is a new and more nuanced scenario.

So what good is continuing to read and learn about the Republic and put my thoughts down in a somewhat orderly fashion?  I am reminded, by my readings in philosophy, of Epictetus’ Dichotomy of Control.  Simply put - focusing on that which we can immediately impact, while not assenting to be perturbed by that which is not within our control.  This is, of course, extremely difficult in our current time given the ubiquity of copious amounts of information and news, the tendency for us to “doom scroll” through our favorite social media apps, or calm down our friends who are panicking more than us while facepalming about our friends who see no problem with the world.  These last four years have been a chaotic time, culminated by this past year, which has been icing on the cake.  So what do we hold to, even as we sometimes feel like we are clinging to an insane tilt-a-whirl that could suddenly eject us into the inky blackness of an existential abyss?  

        We hold to that which we know and those whom we have. 

        We hold to what the Founding Fathers left us, the ideals of a fledgling yet flawed Republic that we must carry on.  We hold to the self-evident truths set forth in our own Declaration of Independence from a tyrant’s grip two centuries ago.  We hold to the truth that all of us are equal, and our government exists to secure our rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness; and that same government is only empowered through the consent of the governed - not from corporations, or foreign autocrats, criminal entities, or immoral family dynasties. 

        We hold to our friends and our families.  We help our fellow Americans in need, should we have the capacity, and ask for help should the need arise.  We hold to those whom we may not have to hold tomorrow, or whom we may be fortunate enough to hold for decades onward. 

        I allowed the zeitgeist of 2020 to give me pause, to give me doubt. To wonder about the future existence of the Republic, much as a sailor may doubt the integrity of his ship’s hull in a storm.  This doubt is normal, but we must get past it if the ship is to survive.  This doubt, this fear, is the tool of dictators and authoritarians who expect us to forget what the Republic is. They expect us to feel helpless, even when exercising our most sacred civic duty of casting our ballots. They expect us to not continue to learn, to cease our quiet outrage, to accept and adapt to the circumstances in exactly the way our minds are wired to do.

        There are many things we need to adapt to, in order to survive or overcome.

        Tyranny - past, present, and future - is not one of them.