This piece is appearing in newspapers in the very red congressional district (VA-06) in which I was the Democratic nominee for Congress in 2012, and where I have been publishing a weekly op/ed column for the past twelve years, attempting to awaken to the better angels of their nature the “conservatives” who have been (mis)led over to “the dark side.”
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The Soul of a Great Nation
What History Reveals about the “Souls” of Nations
Writing about China 90 years ago, Pearl Buck spoke of “the soul of a great nation.” China’s soul, she said – with its humility, courage, and deep heritage from its past – showed “vast promise for the future.”
But the “souls” of nations are not fixed things.
China has indeed become a “great nation” — a world power and economic powerhouse great enough to challenge the United States. But I doubt this China – now threatening to take Taiwan by force -- fulfills the “vast promise” Buck envisioned.
The souls of nations seem rather unstable, due to the fact that different components of a society – potentially with very different spirits -- are struggling against each other for power.
Germany in the 1930s showed this instability quite dramatically. When Hitler and his fascist vision shattered the democratic Weimar Republic, the soul of the most “cultured” nation in Europe chose to drive an engine of genocide and destruction. The worst parts of German civilization took power.
Russia provides yet another case study. After the Cold War, there was hope Russia could embrace democracy, that the Russian people could at last draw upon their rich cultural heritage (of literature, music, and intellectual depth). Instead, Vladimir Putin re-established the long-standing soul of Russian tyranny, a dark spirit that insists on repression at home and expansionist aggression abroad.
The Soul of America at a Crossroads
Over “the soul of America,” there hangs a huge uncertainty: it is not clear whether, in five or ten years, American democracy will have endured, or whether it will be ruled by some kind of dictatorship.
For much of the post-World War II era, the American “soul” seemed stable.
- There were political battles over issues, of course, and there were wars both hot and cold. But the fundamental integrity of American democracy -- the Rule of law, reasonably open and honest political discourse -- was not in question.
- One manifestation of that mostly positive “soul” was America’s role on the global stage -- as “the leader of the free world,” freely chosen by the most free and decent societies on the planet.
Today, that stability is gone—for the 2024 Election has given the nation’s “soul” an altogether different moral and spiritual quality.
- That election brought to power a leader who openly violates the law, abuses presidential power for self-serving purposes, and manipulates public sentiment through lies.
- In the eyes of the world, that President has transformed the one-time “the leader of the free world,” by threatening long-time friends and switching sides in a vital struggle to favor a fascist aggressor over his democratic victim. (That switch signaled by the obvious Lie in declaring that Ukraine began the war, and by the shameful public attempt to humiliate the Ukrainian President in a way the whole world found repulsive.)
So unstable is the nation’s soul that a couple of percentage points in a national election can radically change “the soul of a great nation.”
The Soul of a Party
In America, two major parties are the traditional combatants in the struggle for power. Over the past generation, one of those parties – while maintaining the name it has had for a century and a half – changed profoundly its fundamental values.
The party that once championed conservative values of the Constitution, the Rule of Law, and the centrality of good character has now embraced lawless authoritarianism and leadership that lacks all the fundamental virtues of America’s political and religious traditions.
This altered “soul” of what was once called the Grand Old Party – now under the banner of lawless and deceptive authoritarianism – has proved a path to power. For the moment, it is the Trump Presidency that the world sees as the “soul of America.”
The Souls of Individuals
It also comes down to the souls of individuals.
Sometimes people come to a crossroads, and make decisions that amount to “selling their soul,” a phrase used to mean abandoning important higher values to satisfy some more selfish desire.
Over the past decade, most of the Republican Party made such a deal, protecting their own position and safety by appeasing the punitive President at the top.
We know – from what they said in private – the majority recognized what a danger to America Trump represents. But publicly, they’ve toed the line. (Including acquitting the most impeachable President in history, despite his guilt being far beyond even reasonable doubt.)
The choice has been to go along and maintain their own status, or to stand up for what they know to be right and be severely punished by Trump (and perhaps the violent followers he can summon).
Only a few have chosen principle, and then paid the price.
I wonder: Does a person come out ahead by selling their “soul”?
What would the comparison show about how it feels it feels to be one of those Republicans -- like Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger – who preserved their principles and sacrificed their positions—and how it feels for those Republicans who repeatedly ignored what they knew to be right (Hegseth for Defense Secretary!) to serve their selfish desires?
The fact that in our cultural lexicon the word “soul” points to something essential leads me to believe that those who “sell their soul” are making a bad deal.