“Humankind has long viewed the soul as the vital center, the core, the essence of existence. The soul is what makes us ‘us.' In its finest hours America’s soul has been animated by the proposition that we are all created equal and by the imperative to ensure that we are treated equally.”
– Jon Meacham, Pulitzer Prize-winning author and Carolyn T. and Robert M. Rogers Professor of the American Presidency at Vanderbilt University, defining what he refers to as the “soul of America, a reference to the title of his No. 1 New York Times best-seller from 2018
Jon Meacham traces the bumpy road of trying to live up to the ideals of the Declaration of Independence. in The Soul of America: The Battle for Our Better Angels. The book serves as a sobering reminder that protest, divisive politics, and partisan rancor have been near-constants in the United States.
Meacham writes each time the American soul has faced challenges, it has managed to overcome hatred and divisiveness. Meacham says …
“From Harriet Tubman to Alice Paul to John Lewis, from the beaches of Normandy to the rending of the Iron Curtain, our story has soared when we’ve built bridges, not walls, when we’ve lent a hand, not when we’ve pointed fingers, when we’ve hoped, not feared.”
(Jon Meacham. The Soul of America: The Battle for Our Better Angels. 2018)
The gist of the book wrestles with the country’s conflicted history and what Meacham sees as our innate ability to somehow channel our “better angels.” It’s a term taken from Abraham Lincoln’s first inaugural address as he implored the rebellious South to respond:
“We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic chords of memory will swell when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature.”
Meacham writes …
"In the main, the America of the twenty-first century is, for all its shortcomings, freer and more accepting than it has ever been. If that weren't the case, right-wing populist attacks on immigrants and the widening mainstream wouldn't be so ferocious. A tragic element of history is that every advance must contend with the forces of reaction."
Meacham's and Lincoln's words are so timely. Now, a supermajority of Americans agree – that the battle for our collective soul has begun. Americans no longer believe that the establishment can solve anything – red and blue Americans agree. Such alienation predates Trump and the pandemic, and will probably post-date them as well. But if the public doesn’t trust its leaders, who will save the soul of the nation?
Healing the soul of America means facing up to the deepest inequities in our society. As summarized by Meacham, American history is the story of slow, painful progress – two steps forward (when better angels drive the train) and one step back (when demons have their day). In bad times, it's vice versa.
The historical struggle between good guys and bad guys naturally centers around the presidency. That's where the power is, and it's also the federal government's only elected position where the officeholder's constituency is not his district or state, but the whole country.
Which brings us to the 2020 election …
Even before former Vice President Joe Biden and Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif, joined as running mates, they both used the same words to describe the importance of stopping President Donald Trump from getting reelected, dramatically calling the 2020 campaign a "battle for the soul of the nation."
Democratic strategist and columnist Michael Gordon says of Trump and Biden: "They both see this election as about the fundamental values that Americans hold, and the fundamental values that our country lives by."
Gordon continues …
"People are just looking for a reason to pull the lever for this ticket. Talking about the fundamental damage that Trump has done and repairing that – and actually bring us to a better place, perhaps because of it – I think will resonate and inspire,"
If America truly still does possess a soul, Meacham's conception of the need to live up to the proposition that we are all created equal is spot on. Divisive politics and protests are visible indications that two completely different mindsets of values comprise the nation's spiritual sense of identity. “Building bridges, not walls” – it is clear that our “better angels” need to fight for leadership capable of mending an America in sunder.
“I’m not suggesting the kingdom of heaven will come after Donald Trump by any means. The Trump election is a last grasp at white male supremacy. My argument is … whether it’s emancipation, or economic opportunity, or suffrage, or fighting Jim Crow, the story of the country can be seen as the hard-fought story of these victories.”
– Jon Meacham
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