In the end, half of us (the Midwest and the coasts) voted for a man who raised himself up from his bootstraps, became the first African American editor of the Harvard Law Review, launched the greatest political campaign of our lifetimes, and served admirably (without scandal or serious misstep) for four years as our president. The other half of our nation (most of the West and nearly all of the South) voted for a man who was raised in privilege, served his business interests, his family, and his church with distinction, and served one term as the governor of a state that didn’t even vote for him in the presidential race. To say that we are a divided nation is an understatement. To say that we face challenges is to minimize the schism in our neighborhoods, cities, states, and country. Still, I think some basic truths from the past eighteen months of rancor should not be ignored.
First, Americans have now rejected a political philosophy based upon theological arguments: one which chooses to ignore dinosaurs, evolution, climate change, medicine, science, and commonly understood human biology. As an example, in Minnesota, a state of great teachers, great public and private universities and colleges, and thoughtful (for the most part) politicians, voters soundly rejected amendments to the Minnesota Constitution which sought to define marriage based upon theological principles and which would have turned the right to vote into something akin to cashing a check.
However you feel about same sex marriage, the failure of the recent amendment regarding that issue deserved its fate: Minnesota law (statutes passed by our elected representatives) already define marriage as the union of one man, one women. Defeating the amendment did nothing to change that legal definition.
With respect to the Voter ID proposal, I was puzzled by the debates surrounding the issue. Lost in the passion displayed by both sides was this fundamental truth: Voting is a right, not a privilege. Putting on my lawyer’s hat for a moment, my argument against the amendment is very simple: Every man or woman living in Minnesota has the right to cast his or her vote unless someone can establish that the person attempting to vote is unqualified to do so. Period. Voting is not akin to obtaining a hunting license, a license to drive, or seeking public benefits. Those are all privileges that may or may not be accessed by Minnesotans upon showing suitable qualifications. Casting a vote; a basic, fundamental right of any adult Minnesotan who has not had his civil rights taken from him due to a felony conviction or a finding of incompetency by a court of law; should not require anything more than the voter’s attestation that the voter is who he says he is and that he lives in the precinct where he is casting his vote. Think about this: any felon released from prison can attain a license to drive. A photo ID (driver’s license) doesn’t establish that a felon has had his civil rights (including the right to vote) restored. Presenting a photo ID at the polls in no way “prevents” the voter fraud that is claimed to be at the root of the proposed amendment.
I also think that what Minnesota, what America affirmed last night is this: We celebrate and hold nearly sacred stories of Americans of modest means who have followed their dreams and made something of their lives. President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama are sterling examples of such hard-earned success. Despite the birther and other crazed voices to the contrary, they have done nothing to diminish the level of their accomplishments in either their private or public lives.
Finally, what Minnesota and America also affirmed last night is that personal integrity: being true to one’s moral and ethical compass; can defeat, in the end, distortion and deliberate falsehood. Contrast President Obama’s obvious personal integrity with Mitt Romney’s response to the racially coded (or not so coded) venom injected into the campaign by Trump, Gingrich, Limbaugh, and a host of others on the Right. Not once during a very strained and heated campaign did the president point to Gov. Romney’s faith as being out of the mainstream or an impediment for the Governor to be president. No surrogate of the president went there either. But on the other side of the equation, Governor Romney was remarkably silent. He did nothing to challenge or rein in the nonsense being spewed by his crowd. Nothing.
John McCain, when confronted with right wing commentary about candidate Obama’s race, religion, and place of birth in 2008 stood far taller. He said loudly and clearly: “Knock it off.” He showed that, even in a losing effort, ethics and integrity matter. Unfortunately, Mitt Romney never displayed similar fortitude.
The way I see it, the legacy of this election is not so much a story of the division of our beloved nation based upon red and blue states. It is more a reminder to us all that personal integrity matters even when the flames of politics are hot and the race for high office is razor close.
It was heartening to see America vindicate our president, his wife, and their family as being indeed, not just one of us, but the best of us.
Peace.
Mark
