After a long and dramatic campaign, Election Day arrives tomorrow. WFAE’s Tommy Tomlinson, in his "On My Mind" commentary, says it’s a high-stakes moment in American history — and a chance to uphold an American tradition.
This country’s history is tattered and frayed at the edges with the times we have done wrong and done others wrong. But one reason we have pride in this place — one reason so many of us care so much about America — is this: When it counts, we stand up to the bully.
Americans stood up to King George. We stood up to the Confederates who seceded rather than give up their slaves. We stood up to lesser tyrants like Joseph McCarthy and Bull Connor. We stand up even now to Vladimir Putin.
And now, on the brink of Election Day, we have to stand up one more time to Donald Trump.
Some days it feels like Trump has already broken us. His great and terrible gift is a dowsing rod into the dark parts of the American soul. He will say or do anything and he gives his followers permission to do the same. He has revealed how little it takes to push otherwise decent people into becoming the worst version of themselves.
He doesn’t want to lead this country. He wants to reign over it. And the powerful people who trail him like faithful dogs are willing to help him do it.
This election is about one thing: Standing up to the bully one more time.
It also means standing up to the copycats — in North Carolina, candidates such as Mark Robinson and Michele Morrow, who would have never sniffed at public office were Trump not their role model.
This is a painful time for those of us who love this country. I believe that Kamala Harris, if she wins, will be a fine president. But she will take office knowing that damn near half the people in this country voted for a convicted felon, sexual predator, crooked businessman and wannabe dictator. For some Americans, it will be the third time they voted for him.
It’s no longer clear to me whether Trump, and all he represents, is a fever or a cancer. It’s possible that the damage he has done to this country will linger long after he is gone.
But we have to get him gone to find out.
We have survived worse threats. We have stood up to worse bullies. We have been our own worst enemy time and again, but we have also rallied in the most important moments. This is one of those moments. I believe we have it in us to stand up one more time.
Tommy Tomlinson’s On My Mind column runs Mondays on WFAE and WFAE.org. It represents his opinion, not the opinion of WFAE. You can respond to this column in the comments section below. You can also email Tommy at ttomlinson@wfae.org.
