Standing On The Cusp of History

[The Bare Knuckled Pundit]

Propelled by youthful exuberance and hope, girded by the wisdom of the ages, America stands once again before the open pages of History. Full of energy and anticipation, weariness and apprehension the nation steps into the voting booth to leave its mark and write the opening passages in the next chapter of our collective story.

Old and young, black and white, gay and straight, pro-life and pro-choice, Atheist, Christian, Muslim, Jew, Mormon and Buddhist, brown and yellow, male and female, physically challenged and able-bodied, scholars and laymen, rich and poor, Conservative and Liberal all step before the great equalizer to secure their rights and the nation’s future – that most quintessential symbol of American democracy and the greatest fear of tyrants and despots– the ballot box.

And with each sacred lot entrusted to the care of democracy’s solemn sentinel, goes the hopes and dreams of not only the individual, but the nation.

With a checkered past, littered with abuse and humiliation, innumerable atrocities, the segregation and discrimination of foreigners and our fellow countrymen alike, we are an imperfect and often divided people. Base and fearful, we rationalize the indulgence of our dark demons in the name of security, stability and order.

And yet, as tragically flawed and imperfect though we may be, the darkest depths of America’s soul pale in comparison to its lofty heights. It is from the grand peaks of the American spirit that millions have marched, spilled their blood and given their lives across the four corners of the Earth. Not for fame or glory, dominion or empire, but rather principal and ideal, America has sacrificed her treasure and children generation after generation on the soil of remote and exotic lands few of her citizens will ever see or touch.

It is this sacrifice, and the ideal and dream it is made in defense of, which renews the American spirit with each passing generation. It creates the magnetic force of hope that inspires the dreams of millions and drives them to her golden shores of promise and opportunity year after year.

Though at times we may fall painfully short of this rare standard among men and nations, it nonetheless drives us forward, challenging us to look at the faces of those denied our grace and civility as if they were those we found in the mirror’s gaze.

And in those moments when our people and spirit are divided, it is the American ideal that has driven us to the streets and battlefields of God’s country in the search of resolution, integration and reconciliation.

Though often bitter in our partisanship and unrelenting in our defense, it is our preferred route to the American dream, not its’ pursuit that divides us. This has ever been the case in the past and so it is today.

Before us stand two patriots and guides, seeking to lead us down diverging paths. Both are fraught with challenges and potential peril, neither easy nor carefree; but no more so than the precarious path that has lead us to this fork.

Both men are symbolic of the distinct dichotomy of the dream.

One fervently points to the grandeur of a nostalgic and romanticized golden age of yore, resolutely counseling a return to a path of promise and prosperity from which we have forlornly and regretfully strayed. Like Lazarus, he would resurrect a fallen American dream left to return to the dust of the Earth from which it came. Possessed of a time-tested and battle-worn wisdom, he assures us he has the knowledge and experience to lead us back to glory.

The other points boldly to the possibilities of the future, seeking renewal of the dream not in the solace of past glories, but the victory of new challenges met and overcame. It is in the unfamiliar and often foreboding wilderness of the future, not the safety of the citadel of the past that the golden city on the hill will prosper and shine yet again. With the power of his resolve, strength, courage and energy there is no obstacle that can deter us or bar our path, he insists.

And so, the choice is ours and yours.

In all likelihood the decision will be known by tomorrow’s sunrise, if not shortly after today’s sunset. With its’ revelation, we will again become a people divided, for there will be a victor and a vanquished.

Yet that division need not cripple and destroy us.

Again, though we may passionately disagree on the path which we take, it is the American dream that we all pursue and yearn for.

Regardless of which side of History’s decision you find yourself on once the ballots are counted and the victor declared, whether he is your champion or tormentor, pray God to steel him for the lonesome burden he has willfully accepted. The glories of power are rivaled only by the weight of it’s’ responsibilities. And there is no greater glory or responsibility on Earth than that of the American presidency.

But even as a president is a reflection of how America sees herself and views the future, their success is also a measure of the will and unity of her people. If he is to succeed in leading us, we must be willing to follow. Likewise, he must be willing not only to receive but to heed our counsel.

One cannot lead without the many nor the many progress without leaders.

And so the first challenge which rises with tomorrow’s sun is to lay the foundation on which to build that fabled and storied more perfect union between our leaders and we, the led.

Drawing on the wisdom of the ages, propelled by an indomitable hope for the future, together with a resolute spirit and the goodwill of charity and compromise, we met yet again take those first steps towards the promise of the American dream even as we write the next chapter in her ongoing story with each milestone, however momentous or sublime.

Only in America, faithful readers. May God bless her; only in America.

[Blackwater Lunchbreak]

That was so gay.