Let's Face Hard Truths: America Needs A Moral Uprising​

"The dogmas of the quiet past are inadequate for the stormy present. The occasion is piled high with difficulty and we must rise to the occasion. As our case is new, we must think anew and act anew. We must disenthrall ourselves, and then we shall save our country."

Abraham Lincoln’s siren call to "think anew" is no less relevant today than 150 years ago. Few would argue – stormy times are upon us. If one were to measure the state of the United States by the tone of political rhetoric and social division, it would be rivaling any period since the blood-soaked years of the civil war. 

While it’s hard to imagine what Lincoln might have tweeted had he been President today, one can reasonably assume his tweets wouldn’t have contained phrases like "horse face" and "go back to where you came from", or similar sentiments intended to demean and divide.

Democratic nominee Marianne Williamson’s spiritual framing of "the stormy present" has received widespread attention since she first stepped onto the debate stage.  

"We’ve never dealt with a figure like this in American history before. This man, our President, is not just a politician; he’s a phenomenon. And an insider political game will not be able to defeat it… The only thing that will defeat him is if we have a phenomenon of equal force, and that phenomenon is a moral uprising of the American people."

In an op-ed for the Washington Post, Senator Mitt Romney wrote of Trump, "His conduct over the past two years, particularly his actions this month, is evidence that the President has not risen to the mantle of the office."

Trump's ability to weaponize fear, tap into the lowest inclinations of human nature, and reduce people to their basest instincts is unprecedented in America’s presidential history. The only way to counter what Williamson called the "dark psychic force of the collectivized hatred" is with an equally unprecedented moral uprising from every side of the political spectrum.

Echoing similar sentiments, President Carter recently said, "What is needed now, more than ever, is leadership that steers us away from fear and fosters greater confidence in the inherent goodness of humanity."

As incivility reaches new heights, there is a mounting hunger for leaders on every side to bring out the "inherent goodness" of America’s humanity; to raise the bar of human decency, not lower it.

Many pine the likes of John McCain, whose moral courage compelled him to risk the wrath of his party. Leaders grounded in integrity, unwilling to surrender principle for power or profit. Leaders with the humility to listen to their opponents rather than debase, dehumanize or diminish them. Most of all, leaders with the courage to lay their pride on the line for the sake of generations to come.

"We need to face some things that are difficult to face," said Williamson during the last CNN debate. "We need to rise from the ashes of denial and despair to do something about them."  

Blaming the recent spate of mass shootings on mental illness, video games, or even on white supremacy misses their deeper causes, confining responses to ineffective platitudes and obsolete paradigms. In this instance, that America’s gun laws, written in a time when the "right to bear arms" served to advance freedom, now kills more Americans than it protects. Arguing otherwise is denial in its purest form. Failing to call out such denial for fear of off-siding the NRA is cowardly. After all, many other countries have problems with mental illness, videos games and extremism. None come close to America in the proportion of citizens killed by gun violence. Even compared to war torn countries like Syria and Yemen, Americans are four times more likely to die from a bullet. 

Gun laws are just one hard truth. So too, other harsh realities must be confronted if America is to heal its social wounds, restore trust in its inherent goodness, and regain moral authority on the world stage. 

"Trump is a moral threat to the country," wrote David Brooks in the New York Times. "He's not a policy revolutionary. He’s a cultural revolutionary." 

But just as fear is contagious, so too is courage. And the path of moral courage, particularly in "stormy times", distinguishes itself from others because it is the only path upon which an individual, organization or nation cannot get lost.

Transcending partisan differences, the path of moral leadership taps into the highest aspirations of human nature and refuses to succumb to the "dark psychic forces" of our lowest. 

Countering the vacuum of moral leadership and the normalization of incivility, vulgarity, bigotry and indecency will take a collective moral uprising in America.

In my interview with Williamson, she said, "Democracy is not just about our rights; it’s about our responsibilities." Watching it play out on our screens may be comfortable. Saying "I’m not political" may be convenient. But let's be clear: choosing to say nothing for fear of backlash is, in and by itself, a choice; one that ultimately renders one complicit. The "epidemic of cowardice in the GOP" (to quote Rep. Adam Schiff) undermines trust in their moral leadership, as individuals and as a party.

So what can we each do? We must do the brave work of not only trying to understand those with whom we don’t agree (remember, Lincoln invited his political opponents into his cabinet!) but to face the hard truths we would prefer to ignore. And then, to do what is within our power, getting behind those whose principles bolster their moral fortitude not to surrender self-respect for self-interest.

"Darkness cannot drive out darkness," said Martin Luther King Jr, "Only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that." 

Casting out the darkness is not the work of the few; it’s the work of the many.

In such dark stormy times, it falls on each of us to take personal responsibility for choosing a path that moves us toward lightness; doing what is right versus what is easy; laying our comfort on the line for a nobler cause.

Franklin Roosevelt once said that the highest duty of the Presidency is moral leadership. While Trump has his strengths, even his most ardent supporters would be hard-pressed to mount a case for his moral leadership. This is precisely why every person who holds moral leadership as foundational for great leadership must look within and ask themselves where they are called to act with greater courage themselves.

We all have influence. We all have power. When we fail to use the power within our control, we surrender that power for others to wield it for us.

It is the small choices we make that, over time, direct the trajectory of our lives and the state of our hearts. This is as true at the individual level as at the collective level. Never has it been more important for every American to make a choice. What kind of country do we want to be? 

Margie Warrell is a bestselling author and speaker who is passionate about emboldening braver leadership globally. Learn about her Live Brave Weekend this October 25-27, outside Washington D.C.