Madison Brief

by Jeannie Conner

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything …”  A Tale of Two Cities, Charles Dickens, 1859

After watching both conventions from start to finish, there could be no starker contrast between the looking glass through which the Republicans and Democrats see the landscape of America.  Hope vs Fear.  Light vs. Dark. “We are stronger together” vs. “I alone can fix it”

There were even stark contrasts in the speeches from each convention:  The Democrats showcased Joe Biden, Bill Clinton, Michael Bloomberg, and Barack Obama.  The Republicans showcased the Trump Children, Chris Christie and Newt Gingrich. Apparently the Bush family had a more pressing engagement.  And lest we ignore the more awkward comparative moments,  Michelle vs. Melania, Bernie vs. Ted, and the Gold Star Muslim father and mother vs. Chachi and the underwear model..

Sorry folks, I just couldn’t resist a little levity.  You see, I’ve been struggling the last few weeks to write this blog because I have not felt good about America lately.  Each time I clicked on my IPad to read the morning news I was overwhelmed with the Trump stories, his blustering interviews and “tweets”, and Hillary Clinton’s email saga, the FBI investigation and how she could not be trusted — both receiving the lowest approval ratings in history.   

We are all riding an emotional political high wire this year.  While watching each convention, I cheered, I cried, I laughed, I feared, I was angry, I was inspired. I was reminded of what it meant to be an American…what it meant to live in a place where its First Amendment  guarantees us the freedom of religion, speech, press, petition and assembly — even if it isn’t always pretty.

Indeed, this political year is painful.  But perhaps this is just a natural extension of the 200-year old experiment that our brave forefathers fought for so long ago.  Perhaps this election will make us stronger, more aware, innovative…more committed to set our country on the right path.

While it’s easy to become  focused on each candidate’s day-to-day machinations, perhaps the past two weeks is a reminder that America’s future doesn’t lie with our favorite candidate; our future lies in deciding what we want  America to stand for.   Will we be defined by wisdom or foolishness, belief or incredulity, lightness or darkness, hope or despair?  Right now, we have everything…but our greatest challenge in the next 100 days, is to find and rekindle America’s soul.