Americans are notoriously distrustful of government, though we are nearly 200 years on from the Boston Tea Party, we are still a nation without much faith political leaders. From time to time this has changed and our presidential elections have been such times. Every four years voters offer would-be presidents the opportunity to inspire them. They have asked to be reassured that their hope in American greatness was not misplaced. As voters have sought to see America as “a city on a hill,” the men who confidently said “it's morning again in America” and encouraged us to find the “angles of our better nature” have become our leaders. The men who declared in our hardest times that we had “nothing to fear, but fear itself” and told us that in spite of our struggles “yes, we can,” would comfort a fearful nation and become our presidents. Presidents have been asked to lift our spirits, to inspire us, and to refresh our hope in the future.
This year, however, the quadrennial campaign for optimist-in-chief has failed to materialize. There has been negativity before, there has been scathing rhetoric and there has been hate, but rarely have we seen this kind of dejection and antipathy. While one candidate attacks America’s leaders, institutions, and political parties; the other has become a symbol of the real flaws in those same leaders, institutions and parties. They offer no hope. Instead of offering a bright vision of America’s next century, one candidate weaves a fabricated image of America burning, while the other is too busy trying to get untangled from her own fabrications. They offer no inspiration.
For millions of Americans who are angry, frustrated and scared for their futures, they have been offered a brutish candidate to fan the flames of their fears. The rest of America has been offered a glass of warm tap-water as their only alternative. While American’s will certainly choose four years of warm tap water, few voters will be satisfied, and even fewer will be hopeful. The underlying issue of 2016 is that Americans will elect a capable leader, but will be left without inspiration, without excitement, and without optimism.
This cannot continue after November. America does not need to be made great again but we must remind ourselves of the traits which have already made us great. The best presidents of the past, while often the most optimistic, were also the ones gifted with the ability to hold a mirror to America and show us our incredible strength, resilience, and ingenuity. As America’s increasingly despise their elected leaders, lose faith in their government and fear economic decline, the travesty of America’s 180th presidential election is the complete absence of a leader fit to inspire the United State’s to believe in itself again.
As we march towards November, Americans need to begin to rethink who they are willing to support and demand that our leaders share their vision of the future of the United States, not simply their interpretation of the present. Politicians need also rethink their campaign messages and perhaps instead of denigrating their fellow elected officials, they could use their campaigns to inspire Americans to have faith in Washington again. We need to accept nothing less than total faith in America from our leaders and refuse to allow them to denigrate other Americans as they seek to become Commander-In-Chief of every American. America needs a new generation of American leadership driven to make America the best version of herself and to inspire Americans to reach for that goal as well.
