The High Road Comes to an End

(Credit: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)

(Edit 11/15/24: Changed some wording for clarification)

When Kamala Harris acknowledged her loss in the 2024 presidential election, that was the first time an election had been peacefully conceded in this country in eight years. Four years before that, faced with a rejection by the American electorate, Donald Trump declared victory, accused his opponents of engaging in widespread election fraud (because, of course, nothing he loses can be fair), and lawyered up to challenge results in multiple states. These attempts to overturn the outcome culminated in the Capitol riot of January 6, 2021, one of the most shameful days in the history of our democracy. The right still treats the chaos and destruction of that riot as a natural expression of our God-given right to protest.

Even after all of that, Joe Biden gave a speech in which he promised to be a president for all Americans, not just the ones who had voted for him.

This is the story of the last four years in politics. The Democratic party has consistently attempted to retain some semblance of decorum and civility as the Republican party has embraced dehumanization and crudity. The Democrats have encouraged people to not let politics ruin their personal relationships, while the Republicans have freely swung around words like "pedophile" and "vermin" to describe their opponents. The Democrats encouraged citizens to exercise their right to vote, while the Republicans have set ballot boxes on fire.

The Democrats conceded their lost election, and the Republicans started a riot that drove four Capitol officers to suicide out of trauma in the following days.

The high road has failed. America has become a nation of bitter, angry, hateful people, and they elected a president who represents that. In hindsight, it was foolish of the Democratic party to assume that people wanted civility or morality anymore. American politics has become a dog-eat-dog world, and the Dems were chasing after a chew toy. It's entirely possible that there is no viable path forward for the party unless they match the level of mudslinging that Donald Trump turned into a core feature of the modern right.

This conflicts me deeply. If the Democrats go this route, that could mean a victory, and I believe that Democrats should be holding the office of the Presidency until the influence of Donald Trump is completely flushed out of the right. On the other hand, under those circumstances, how long will it be before the Democrats have a Donald Trump of their own? Someone with no aversion to outright, unrestrained disdain for all who disagree with them, someone who does nothing more than contribute to the pervasive division in this country? Certainly, this person would arise within two election cycles and pick up a frightening amount of steam.

Part of the reason this conflicts me is that, honestly, I'm tired of the high road. I'm tired of being expected to smile and nod politely when an extended family member espouses a belief I find morally abhorrent. I'm tired of being told to love my neighbor when my neighbor thinks of people who vote like me as "the enemy from within." In essence, I am tired of being told to respect the opinions of people who clearly hold my beliefs in the utmost contempt. And yet, for the life of me, I can't bite back. I still smile and nod. The most I do is roll my eyes when their backs are turned. I don't call my neighbors fascists, I just say, "agree to disagree." The high road is in my blood. I can't help it.

I yearn for the day when all of this is a distant memory. I yearn for the day when two presidential candidates can get onstage and debate each other with civility, and we can be confident that America will land on its feet no matter who is elected. That time is not now, it is not in the next four years, and it may not be for decades. We live in a political landscape where respect and decorum are weaknesses. At this point, to get ahead, you have to be Donald Trump. And we have too many of him as is.