However, a convulsive partisan age is undeniably seeping into everyone’s lives. In another example of stunning political upheaval, an activist Supreme Court, shielded behind tall metal fences in its marble chambers in Washington, D.C., has just stripped millions of women of their constitutional right to have an abortion. The decision vindicates a half-century campaign by conservative activists, many of whom have outspoken moral objections to abortion, which they equate with killing an unborn child. However, the Supreme Court decision and the emerging system of abortion restrictions in the US have been met with outrage in other parts of America. On Sunday, South Dakota Republican Gov. Christy Noem, a potential Republican presidential candidate, defended her state’s abortion ban on CNN’s “State of the Union” when asked if a 10-year-old girl who was raped should be forced to give birth. or explain how her state will take care of women who are denied the right to terminate a pregnancy. Her evasions described how many abortion rights advocates see the hypocrisy and inhumanity among some of those who profess to care about life — and the irreconcilable division on the issue in the country. Given the political discord simmering beneath the surface of Monday’s national holiday, it’s no surprise that a staggering 85 percent of U.S. adults in an Associated Press-NORC poll released last week said things in the country are headed for wrong direction. The survey formalized the obvious: for all its advantages, abundant resources, comparative prosperity, and history of working to perfect its democracy, the United States is not a country comfortable with itself right now. The cliché that America’s best days are upon us is getting harder and harder to believe.
More reasons for gloom
Social tensions are exacerbated by economic pressure. The war in Ukraine is making food bills more expensive and raising gasoline prices to record highs. Biden’s embattled presidency appears to be running out of ideas on how to help after potentially worsening the situation by pumping hundreds of millions of dollars of spending into the economy. Gun crime in the cities harks back to a more violent past, and every Monday brings a grim record of the weekend’s mass shootings. The shadow of Trump’s violent coup attempt hangs over the country. A flurry of voting restrictions in several conservative-led states and the GOP’s refusal to renew voting rights laws point to a poisoned era of racial repression. Liberals who once dreamed of a new Franklin Roosevelt are unhappy with the results of their narrow monopoly on political power in Biden’s Washington. But their radicalism also risks alienating the critical middle ground of voters who should be rapt as the GOP dives right. Incredibly, the country is struggling to make enough infant formula to feed its babies — and has to fly in emergency supplies from abroad — a metaphor if ever there was one for a time when things don’t seem to be going too well. And in some areas, the spectacles that bring Americans of all persuasions together — the Fourth of July fireworks — are tempered by bans imposed because the land is dry because of global warming, another threat that defies politics consent to action.
A deeply divided nation
Almost every day, there is a controversy or political struggle that highlights the competition between more moderate, diverse and socially tolerant American cities and suburbs and the conservatism of rural America.
Many leaders on both sides of the aisle are highlighting the differences for political gain, only adding to the sense of anger running through the country. Elected leaders who seek to bring together those with differing views are an endangered species.
Increasingly, for those thinking about politics, each side of the divide sees the other as an existential threat to their idea of America — a perception schism that has been particularly illustrated in recent weeks by the fight between supporters and opponents of abortion rights.
On the right, disenchantment with government itself — which fueled Trump’s rise and is exacerbated by his lies about voter fraud — is the driving force behind a Republican Party abandoning democracy.
On the left, more and more people see a Supreme Court that openly defies the majority opinion as illegitimate. At one time the supreme court seemed above the partisan flames. But even its justices have been caught up in a wave of outrage, with sniping more typical of social media than Supreme Court opinions. During oral arguments before last month’s landmark Roe v. Wade overturn, liberal Justice Sonia Sotomayor wondered whether the court could “survive the stench” of taking away abortion rights. In his majority opinion that did just that, Justice Samuel Alito enjoyed dismissing the reasoning behind Roe as “blatantly wrong.”
The Supreme Court was once seen as a mediating force for stability. But with its new zeal to destroy precedents, the conservative majority has turned it into yet another destabilizing force in society.
Reasons for hope
So what reasons are there for hope this Independence Day? Biden insists things aren’t as bad as they seem, seeking to fulfill that part of a president’s duties that involves turning the country around. “You haven’t found one person, one world leader, to say that America is going backwards,” the President insisted as he wrapped up a visit to Europe last week. “America is better positioned to lead the world than ever before. We have the strongest economy in the world. Our inflation rates are lower than any other nation in the world,” he said, while being somewhat economical with the truth. to the spike in inflation that he once rejected. Biden, of course, is interested in painting things in a better light than they are, especially with the midterm elections coming up, in which Democrats are likely to suffer from his approval rating below 40%. But it’s not all dark. Biden piloted the United States from the depths of the pandemic recession. Prices may be high and eating into wage gains, but unemployment is around 50-year lows. That could soften the impact of a recession many experts fear is on the way. In retrospect, Biden’s declaration of partial independence from Covid-19 last July 4th was premature — and politically unwise. But life is much closer to normal than it was a year ago, and the United States is better prepared to handle any resurgence of Covid-19 in the fall. There are many vaccinations to be had, though again, the policy seems to threaten the common good by refusing to take such precautions as a badge of honor among some grassroots conservatives. Washington may not be as irreparably broken as it seems. Since last year, Republicans and Democrats have combined to pass a massive new law fixing the nation’s aging infrastructure — a task that eluded recent presidents before Biden. And after a deal between Republicans and Democrats, the Senate passed one of the most sweeping gun safety laws in a generation. The measure may have been a far cry from the pleas of grieving family members of the victims of mass shootings in Buffalo, New York, and Uvalde, Texas. But it was a sign that even in this vicious political climate, incremental change shaped through political institutions is not impossible. For the first time in two decades, Americans are not fighting major wars abroad. And Biden’s leadership of the West in confronting Russia’s invasion of Ukraine may represent the most significant display of American global leadership since the Cold War. The bravery of those who resisted Trump’s attempt to steal power in 2020 is also an inspiration this Fourth of July. Wyoming Republican Rep. Liz Cheney, the vice chairwoman of the Jan. 6 House committee, may alienate liberals with her political views, but she has written herself a place in history by standing up for democracy, unlike many by the valiant GOP opponents running in permanent fear. from Trump. Cassidy Hutchinson, a former Trump White House aide, embarrassed many more senior colleagues by showing how one person can take a stand for the truth with her televised testimony before the House committee investigating the Capitol Hill riot. And if the majority of the country who didn’t want to see Roe reversed want an example of turning a disappointing defeat into a final victory, they can look to the years of activism of the anti-abortion movement to see how political change can be forged across generations of activists. who remain committed to the goal. Because this 4th of July, America still has a democratic political system that can be shaped by the people. At least, it is for now.
