Democracy Will Prevail.
January 20, 2021
Today, Joseph R. Biden was sworn in as the 46th President of the United States of America. He immediately took command of the largest military force in the world and assumed executive authority for a government of nine million employees managing an annual budget of $4.8 trillion. Minutes before, these awesome powers were held by President Donald J. Trump, who instantly became – once again – a common citizen with no greater civil authority than any one of the millions of ordinary Americans. For the 65th time in over 231 years, the United States has successfully transitioned power from one leader to the next.
As President Biden was sworn in, we could marvel at the record number of Americans who voted in the 2020 presidential election, including large numbers of young first-time voters and members of traditionally disenfranchised communities. We could honor the extraordinary, unshakable perseverance of thousands of election officials who worked under great scrutiny. We could also celebrate the fact that for the first time in American history, a woman, and a woman of color, now holds the second highest office in the land. But this transition of power stands out for another reason.
None of us can ignore that just seventy-eight days ago, no one knew who would lead the United States for the next four years. What has happened in the intervening seventy-eight days, following the choice of the voters, will be recorded as an historic crisis – one that challenged the very foundations of American democracy. Power hungry demagogues are common enough across the arc of human history, but never before in American history has such an individual succeeded in misleading so many of our citizens. Never before has disinformation been used so broadly to undermine faith in the American electoral system, to question the validity of long established civic institutions, and to contest the results of an open and transparent free election.
This propaganda campaign, complete with Orwellian fictional “facts” that led up to last Wednesday’s violent and deadly riot at the U.S. Capitol Building, should remain for years a deep embarrassment to every American. The apparent confusion and disarray of the American system of government will be cited around the world for years to come as pathetic weakness and a failure of democracy. Some have already begun citing the events of these recent weeks as proof of the inadequacies of the very concept of republican democracy. And yet we have, in little more than two months, peacefully returned to managing the business of 330 million Americans. The Constitution prevailed, and our nation moves forward.
Winston Churchill once observed: “Many forms of government have been tried and will be tried in this world of sin and woe. No one pretends that democracy is perfect or all-wise. Indeed, it has been said that democracy is the worst form of government except for those other forms that have been tried from time to time.” Former Secretary of State and Presidential Precinct supporter Madeleine Albright, observing the crucial influence of minority voters in this election noted that “the strongest engine of democratic renewal often comes from those who have historically been marginalized.” Under stress, democracy has worked for those who needed it most.
Both the greatest strength and the greatest weakness of democracy is that it is self-organizing. Democracy gives free rein to what Thomas Jefferson called the “illimitable freedom of the human mind”. In fact, democracy’s freedoms grant such broad latitude to human behavior that, occasionally, chaos is left free to follow. But it is these same liberties that allow for the rapid discovery of truth and for grievances to be addressed under commonly accepted legal rules. Injustice cannot hide from the sunshine of democracy. There is no justifiable place for violence here; and in a matter of days Americans of every party have joined together to condemn and punish those who dared to choose arms over laws. Americans should be deservedly embarrassed and ashamed by how poorly our system of democracy has performed, particularly over the past four years. But, at the same time we can be proud that despite the threats and the orchestrated chaos, voices of peace, reconciliation, and decency once again are central to the American story.
At the Presidential Precinct we have relentlessly promoted the values of inherent human dignity, individual freedom, the rule of law, and equal justice for all. We have never explicitly advocated for a particular form of government and have never preached for a particular party, nation, or ideology; instead, we maintain our allegiance to these basic values. We view it as our mission to convene thoughtful, aspiring leaders and to provide space where, through dialogue and debate, they are able to seek truth and reach their own conclusions about how their societies may best grow and prosper.
Mankind must, through thoughtful decision-making, guided by facts and these basic values, constantly re-learn the art of governance, rebuild trust, and strengthen civic institutions. Above all, we hope to use the sad and alarming lessons of the past seventy-eight days in America for good. We hope these events continue to challenge all members of the Precinct community in their effort to build stronger civic institutions through which democracy may thrive. Democracy can prevail. Democracy will prevail.
James B. Murray, Jr.
Founder & Board Chair
Neal Piper
Executive Director