A ‘Time To Heal’ Will Take Work
“To everything there is a season: a time to build, a time to reap, and a time to sow and a time to heal” was Joe Biden’s version of the oft-quoted biblical passage in his election speech on Saturday evening.
“This,” he went on to declare, “is the time to heal in America.”
The sentiment is a noble one, a message that the nation needs to hear. But it registers as much easier said than done. Any assumption that partisans on the other side will automatically fall into step or even be susceptible to outreach is a leap of faith.
Donald Trump hasn’t even conceded the election. One way or the other, it’s impossible to overlook that he received the support of 72 million Americans. Much is made by Democrats of Biden’s lead in the popular vote – now running about 5.0 million. The one big wrinkle being that almost the entire difference comes from one big state. Take away California, and the two candidates finished in a dead heat across the rest of the country.
Those who want to believe that voters were holding their nose while voting for Trump are wrong. In truth, according to polling done for Our Common Purpose by Survey USA, Trump generated more enthusiasm among his constituency than did Biden, which might be one of the reasons the election turned out so close.
The nationwide survey conducted two weeks before the election showed that 56% of Trump backers were voting for him with enthusiasm, 36% with approval, and only 7% with misgivings. By comparison, 49% of Biden backers did so with enthusiasm, 40% with approval, and 10% with misgivings. When it came to the policies that participants in the poll believed their respective candidates would enact, 49% of Trump voters were enthusiastic compared with 41% of Biden voters. The Trump constituency isn’t going to go away.
The pending Biden administration dismisses or ignores all this at the peril of the nation. There needs to be a reckoning, one side with the other.
Biden has a history from his senatorial days of working with those on the other side of the aisle. In the present moment he gets kudos for intentionality. Having made unity a mantra of his campaign, he drove home the point on Saturday night. “It’s time to put away the harsh rhetoric, lower the temperature, see each other again, listen to each other again,” he implored.
Rather than trying to dismiss and ignore the other side, winner or loser, we need to acknowledge and listen. This will take much more than lip service. More than reaching out and making nice. It requires a genuine understanding of the other side and then being open to a legitimate give and take.
Finding common purpose is possible. It’s encouraging, for instance, that voters on both sides endorse the give and take represented in the 10 Principles to Unite America. The same nationwide survey cited above shows that 69% of those who backed Trump with enthusiasm and 75% of those who backed Biden with enthusiasm – in other words each of their strongest backers – registered themselves “totally comfortable” with the set of ideals.
There is interest among many voters for working together. The leaders of both parties would do well to heed Biden’s words on Saturday evening.
“I believe that this is part of the mandate given to us from the American people,” he said. “They want us to cooperate in their interest, and that’s the choice I’ll make. And I’ll call on Congress, Democrats and Republicans alike, to make that choice with me.”