Political pendulums in America

(7/2024) Early success of Republican Party was driven by wokeness. It started with a clerk, a cape and a speech, and became a movement that grew into a significant percent of the Union Army when the Civil War broke out a year later.

It was 1860, several weeks before the Republican National Convention, where Abraham Lincoln would become the nominee. The clerk was Edgar Yergason. He worked at Talcott & Post’s textile shop in Hartford Connecticut. The cape was Yergason’s quickly sewn protection from oil that dripped down the torch he would carry on February 25, 1860. The speech that evening was given by Cassius Marcellus Clay, a passionate abolitionist who advocated for insurrection against slavery.

Slavery was a contested issue in every way possible, whether to ban or allow slavery to persist in new states as they joined the Union, or requiring Free States to return runaway slaves. There was more at work in the abolition movement than doing the right thing. For every abolitionist who recognized that humans owning each other is wrong, there many other antislavery Americans who saw slavery as a way of southern states to count slaves as members of the population for the purpose of increasing southern representation in Congress, without having to give any rights to the enslaved. Lots of people who do the right thing are also self-serving. Other people join in when they see purpose gaining momentum. When Yergason’s co-workers saw his new outfit, they wanted one too. The quickly sewn capes became a uniform of sorts.

Nineteen year old Yergason and his cohort took their capes and torches to march in the parade after Clay’s speech. They made such an impression as a group that they were brought to a position of prominence in the parade. Over the next month as they showed up at other political events, they realized their actions were inspiring anti slavery groups all around the country. They formalized their group, giving themselves the name "The Wide Awakes".

The Wide Awakes were comprised of people from different cultures and backgrounds, with different beliefs, coming together in a common cause—abolishing slavery while holding the Union together. They played a big part in the Union Army prevailing in the Civil War. A diverse group working as one, leads to success in America, once there is a common purpose. At some point the colors of our flag became marketing tools for identifying our political parties and their respective purpose. Red for Republican, blue for Democrat. I’ve never been a fan of using the colors of our flag as marketing tools. Two bold colors used to define rigid opinion and purpose.

Our country’s success is not because of rigid opinion. We have just honored the eightieth anniversary of D-Day and the scale and scope of Americans coming together for a focused purpose—putting an end to fascism taking over other countries. We had plenty of political voices calling for us not to enter World War II. The most organized were from a large faction of American Nazis spread across the country. It included average citizens, wealthy businessmen, Congressmen and Senators, some colluding directly with Hitler’s Nazi Party leaders. Many loyal Americans, from newspaper reporters to FBI agents, worked to dismantle the power the American Nazis had gained. Pearl Harbor woke up the rest of America to the threat of world wide fascism. It is a testament to our diversity that, once we put aside complacency, we Americans prevailed.

Change scares people, especially social changes. What should scare you is loosing rights. Even more scary is seeing, in yourself, the ability to give your rights away.

All of humanity wants personal freedom and Americans are no exception. Most of us want the freedoms for our fellow Americans that came from the Civil Rights and LGBTQIA Rights Movements. We want what is better for our fellow Americans because discrimination could happen to any of us—losing a right we thought we had. It’s happening to American women right now.

Acceptance, and sometimes a hand up, is not a free ride. President Biden’s student loan forgiveness is a remedy for predatory interest rates, not free college tuition. Maryland Governor Wes Moore has just pardoned marijuana non violent drug users. Most of the recipients are unable to get jobs due to their criminal record. Now they can get job, pay into our tax base, and support their families. These are practical solutions, implemented by Democrats, solving real problems felt by our fellow Marylanders everyday.

In this generation of political pendulum swings, Democrats are finding solutions for the needs of the many, Republicans cater to the whims of the few. The loudest voices in the Republican party are determined to be angry all the time. All the talk about uprising, retribution, and revenge threats comes from a portion of the Republican party aimed it everyone else, including some Republicans. Apparently, the entire world is rigged against them. Their accusations are fantastical, but the anger they feel should be taken seriously whether it’s rational or not. Maybe especially if it’s not rational.

Over the last two centuries what we call the groups at different points of the political spectrum has changed. Up to the 1870s or so, the Democratic Party was pro slavery. Pre Civil War, the Republican Party was formed to create a coalition against slavery. Beginning in the late 19th century the roles slowly reversed between the two major parties. Today the Republican Party pursues control of property over personal rights. The Democratic party balances personal and property rights.

Fourth of July is a celebration of the red white and blue. Do you swell with pride as a Whole American, or as a fractured piece of Old Glory? These are the choices in our time. Each of us has a voice and a vote. We use them to correct our swinging political pendulum.

2024 is the year of the vote. Please make yours count.