Our Unhappy Birthday

 

It is usually claimed that just one-third of the colonists actively supported independence in the Revolutionary War. Unlike our poll-driven contemporary society, it is really hard to know. On the other hand, we do have some sense about how many of our countrymen may be feeling today as we, somewhat unhappily, celebrate our 248th birthday. 

Of course, most of us are really happy to have won life's lottery and to have been born in this country. The multitudes from all over the world who have immigrated here - and continue to do so at this time  - are the most effective testimony that this is still in so many ways the place to be. (I remember how one of my immigrant uncles practically used to tear up during the National Anthem.)

That said, however, there are a lot of Americans for whom the "American Dream" does not seem to have been fulfilled. Rage and resentment have replaced politics for many, who have found an alternative to patriotism in nationalism and an alternative to true religion in political Christianity. As Marilynne Robinson has written, resentment "is what anger becomes when its legitimacy is not acknowledged" ("Agreeing to Our Harm," The New York Review of Books, July 19, 2024). The overwhelming long-term failure of elites across the board to acknowledge the legitimate anger of those who feel disrespected by bipartisan elites has done overwhelming harm to our national conversation. Moreover, even those relatively well positioned enough to escape Trump's political religion of resentment, are anxious at best. For what may be the first time in America's happier history, many parents believe their children will likely be less well off than than their parents. 

Meanwhile, on this hallowed historic date, which commemorates the American commitment to citizen-centered republicanism, we find ourselves reeling from our increasingly and blatantly partisan Supreme Court's anti-originalist, anti-textualist decision to invest Donald Trump with a quasi-regal, pseudo-sacral status, something we as a nation have consistently resisted doing for centuries. A mere 50 years ago, President Richard Nixon was pressured to resign as a consequence of criminal behavior. And, although he later (1977) claimed, “When the president does it, that means it is not illegal,” at least when he resigned in 1974 he obviously recognized that he could in fact be prosecuted for his crimes, and so he gratefully accepted a presidential pardon, the granting of which in turn reflected the complete recognition on the part of the Executive branch that presidents remain subject to the legal process. But now the Supreme Court has effectively accepted Nixon's later claim - contrary to all of American history and jurisprudence.

The crisis created by the danger of a second Trump presidency is exacerbated, of course, by anxieties about President Biden's ability to win another election and decisively defeat Trump. Democrats have rightly faulted the Republican Party for having transformed itself into a slavish personality cult, devoid of any public purpose apart from the empowerment of one man. But is something dangerously similar at work among the Democrats as well? Doubts about President Biden's ability to defeat Trump were already widespread even before last week's catastrophe on the debate stage and are presumably to blame, at least in part, for his consistently low approval rating. Biden's successful record as president is undeniable. Since the debate, however, the doubts about Biden's electability will likely only increase. 

Obviously, Trump and Biden are two extremely different presidents with very different personal and histories. Only one of them has a long and commendable record regarding service to this country. But if Democrats all start falling quickly into line, ignoring increasing concerns about Biden's electability, they will risk elevating exaggerated tribal loyalty to their leader above all else - this despite the fact that they have hitherto been presenting themselves as the public-spirited, non-tribal, patriotic alternative to Trumpism. 

One of the purposes of a political party is to subordinate personal ambition to collective effort in order to offer authentic political alternatives to the voters. By turning their party into a cult of personality, the Republicans have already failed that requirement. Are the Democrats now also in danger of doing something similar? (As of this date, there are some signs the Democrats may yet step up to the needs of the moment, ultimately to the credit of both Biden and his party.)

Our national holiday, as John Adams famously said, should be celebrated with “Games, Sports, Guns, Bells, Bonfires, and Illuminations from one End of this Continent to the other.” (And, of course, with hot dogs!) Americans will certainly celebrate this day, as we are accustomed to do, but birthdays have been happier than this one feels right now!