What's next? Two things at once

The outcome of Tuesday’s election is likely to be mixed, a taste of honey here, a malodorous whiff of the same old garbage there. But where does that leave us? As usual, stuck in the middle of a country in crisis with, in my view, two things to do at once. Two things, two tasks that at times can seem downright contradictory. 

First, we must do our part to help strengthen the center of our democracy by maintaining the norms and little local habits that make democracy possible. We must join with others, some of whom may not share our views on all the issues, and insist on civility and the rule of law, on maintaining the integrity of the vote, and on—just like the pledge says—“liberty and justice for all.” In short, we must carry the flag for an idea of America that is true to its roots in our history and yet large enough to include us all.

But secondly, we must also continue our work as progressives, lobbying hard for proposals that embody our values on education, healthcare, government accountability, climate change, immigration, common sense measures on guns, and more.  In this role we serve as both advocates and interpreters, helping to put complicated issues into terms we can all understand. In this way we keep alive the best ideas and approaches, even those “for which the times are not yet ripe.”  

On some issues such as healthcare, however, we may be a lot closer than we realize to achieving some of our goals.  In Pennsylvania, according to Governor Wolf, only about 5% are still without health insurance.  Looking back ten years, we can see that rate was about 10% (15% or so nationally). That’s progress, of a sort.  But we have also helped in small but significant ways to shift people’s assumptions about healthcare toward a broader acceptance of a public, more universal approach.  According to a recent Kaiser survey, 75% of American want coverage for preexisting conditions protected.  73% want to prohibit insurance companies from charging sick people more. That’s progress, too.

Over the years, Gettysburg DFA has gradually become a live presence in the community, live and loud enough that a resident of Upper Adams, an inveterate conservative, recently wrote a long, very detailed letter to the Gettysburg Timescomplaining that we are in the paper way too often.  He had obviously read our op-eds with care and done quite a bit of research on the national DFA website.  I wrote back immediately to make clear that although we were inspired by the Dean brothers and the original Democracy for America we are very much a local organization.  We run our own show. But the striking thing was how carefully this writer had studied our work.  We are being read and heard.  After this election—win or lose—we must take courage and keep it up!

Will Lane, Chair
Gettysburg Democracy for America