Maybe, just maybe, the decision by RFK Jr. – whom many on the right and left like for different reasons – is a sign. Maybe his decision to endorse Trump, and declare corruption unacceptable, is about something bigger. Being “against” is exhausting. Seeking common ground is exhilarating.
Could it be that, even in this 11th hour, Americans are waking up – or a few are? That traditional Democrats and thoughtful Independents will now think about the nation, not the rhetoric, not the ease of nodding with those who have long despised Trump, but the value in his policies?
Go broader: Is it possible that, similar to that period after the American Civil War, when the nation was sad, tired, torn up, and desperate for healing, we may hear the kind of appeal Lincoln made?
What did Lincoln say then, in a time of profound division, loss of focus, unity, torn oneness? In closing his First Inaugural Address, Lincoln uttered these timeless words, at least timeless for Americans, bound as we are to each other – inevitably, enduringly, necessarily. Today, they echo.
“I am loathe to close. We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained it must not break our bonds of affection.”
Stop there. What if we, one to another, just read those few laconic lines to a neighbor, to those we have always been close to, but which recent events have strained our bonds with? Think about that.
Lincoln continued: “The mystic chords of memory, stretching from every battlefield and patriot grave to every living heart and hearthstone all over this broad land, will yet swell the chorus of the Union, when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature.”
Lincoln was hopeful, dogged, realistic, and wise. He was not prophetic, not all-powerful, not some Godlike human, but he could see what would happen if level heads failed to stop the thundering approach of war, divisions within the nation that would tear the nation asunder.
He knew that wars, declared and undeclared, civil and uncivil, like injustices left unresolved, eat away at a nation and – growing worse by the day – eat at the hearts and contentment of Her citizens.
He delivered that plea to the nation, this man who had never before held high office, who was a self-taught, humble Illinois lawyer with a humble Mainer for vice president – on March 4, 1861.
On April 12, 1861, the Confederacy bombed Fort Sumter, triggering four years of political violence gone viral, a nation gone mad with war, brothers fighting against and killing brothers, and Americans allowing their ideological, economic, and all-or-nothing self-interest to rend their common bonds.
Lincoln had – as a candidate for the US House (unsuccessful), US Senate (unsuccessful), and then Presidency – sought to stop the juggernaut of war, the default to indulgence in all-or-nothing- think. He asked what others have in times of strain, from Washington facing rebellions to Bobby Kennedy on the night Martin Luther King was killed: Be your better selves, treasure the common ground.
In some ways, telescoping former dark and instructive times, we seem to be at another inflection point, another spot on the arc of our history when we must choose.
We must – and this includes Democrats, Independents, and Republicans – choose between fracture with all its enthusiasms, and persistence with all its frustrations, between the instant gratification of throwing down, no longer bothering to persuade, and seeking common ground.
What the RFK Jr. decision says, without actually saying it, is that some see the preservation of the Republic as paramount, more important than winning the game, more valuable than the rough and tumble, roll, crash, and froth of politics.
Could it be that this is the start of a rethink – by more than one man – about what it takes to keep a republic safe and prosperous, restoring the “bonds of affection?” History, as they say, is made by inches. Still, some inches are harder to win and keep than others. Here’s to common ground.
Robert Charles is a former Assistant Secretary of State under Colin Powell, former Reagan and Bush 41 White House staffer, attorney, and naval intelligence officer (USNR). He wrote “Narcotics and Terrorism” (2003), “Eagles and Evergreens” (2018), and is National Spokesman for AMAC.
Common ground? Well, let’s see. We have two diametrically opposed set of worldviews, policies, and goals. One side wants a return to the Constitution as it was meant to be, with minimum government interference and maximum personal freedom, with no interference in other nation’s affairs unless it directly impacts us, and with peace through strength. The other side has been shredding our Constitution, one little piece at a time, for more than a century, and would like nothing better than to trash what’s left of it so they cab create the dictatorship they desire. They also want government to control everything we say and do, down to how much toilet paper you can use when wiping yourself. They also want to keep interfering in other nations’ affairs with endless wars, to coddle and surrender to our enemies, and to basically bring an end to this nation as we know it so we can all be slaves to The One World Government. Common ground? I don’t think so…
Nice sentiment RBC when it comes to common ground. The RFK Jr. decision was the correct decision for him to make based on the cold, hard realities of how the Democrat Party had so effectively managed to both isolate and marginalize him from the beginning of his campaign. I do expect some, perhaps up to maybe 40-50% of his supporters, will follow his recommendation to vote for Trump. The rest, like many other Democrats who either long for the “good old days” of JFK style Democrats that no longer exist, will either sit out the election or just vote for the current Marxist ticket of Harris / Wahl out of pure reflexive habit.
As to the larger call for common ground between the modern Democrat Party of Socialists and Marxists and the modern Republican Party still aligned with most of the core values that made up the original representative republic spelled out in the U.S. Constitution, I don’t see much, if any, real common ground that exists between the two distinctly opposite governing ideologies. Could you provide specifics on this common ground you think is possible between a capitalistic society with individual rights and freedoms and the desired form of socialism / Marxism that the Democrats are actively advocating for right now?
Socialism / Marxism is basically a top-down governing ideology based on the power of the central government to either control private production and assets through onerous regulation and taxation (Socialism) or outright own and control all means of production and all wealth in a given nation (Marxism). It is authoritarian rule through force plain and simple. The people have little to no rights or freedoms beyond what the State, in its supreme authority in the socialist / Marxist models, deem to grant or rescind as the State sees best at any given time.
We are a capitalistic country, based on private property rights, personal wealth and individual freedoms. We, in theory (the American people have gotten incredibly lazy and apathetic in the last 50 to 60 years), elect representatives to government that are supposed to represent our will in the governance of the country for the common good as delineated in Constitution. Granted sometimes the American people currently don’t make very good decisions on who they select to represent them in government or fire them (meaning vote them out when these representatives don’t perform their jobs well or as expected), but for the most part the basics are still driven by the citizens making the decisions of what kind of country we have. Not the other way around, as is standard fare in authoritarian socialist and Marxist regimes.
Bobby Kennedy showed his common sense by joining forces with Trump. The Democrats treated Bobby terribly and even refused to give him SS agents when his father and uncle were both assinated. Bobby had been a life-long democrat and to be so ill-treated by them is terrible. The Kennedy family does not approve of what Boibby is doing, then they better wake up and realize that today’s democrat party is not the party of RFK and JFK. It is a far more liberal and leftist party. If they want the same values, then they had better back Trump.
RFK knows, as President Trump knows, that there is no real Democrat party anymore. When Obama took office on 2008, he began the process of destroying America. As Lincoln told us, the way to do that is to divide the country. (A house divided cannot stand) The quickest way to do that is to convince people that they are not Americans, but are women, gay, black, brown, rich, poor, or any number of other things, but not Americans. Then he took over where George HW Bush started, and began the process of opening the borders, so we were even more “watered down” and divided. It’s the socialist/communist agenda that threatens our great nation.
The goal of the Socialist/.Communist party is to change the citizens of America and make them servents. Victor Davis Hansen outlines this beautifully at Hillsdale College in his course “American Citizenship and its Decline.” This course, and many more are free, just go to the Hillsdale College website and sign up.
Go vote. Take 10 friends with you. Talk to those who are voting democrat and ask them if they’re better off that they were 4 years ago.
Most importantly, Pray for our country!
Trump was a dem before he switched and Kennedy as well. Praying God uses this for good. He’s always good at surprising.
I am delighted and encouraged by this union. It’s the first inkling of the two parties working together that we have seen in many years. Trump and Kennedy may not be perfect at it, but it’s a start.
I hope it’s a good sign. We need all the help we can get.
Sorry, not buying that this left-wing loon who is trading on his family name is some sort of uniting patriot in the mold of Abraham Lincoln.
Mr. Charles, this is some of the most beautifully written, brilliantly conceived and inspiring pieces of writing I’ve ever read – and I am well-read. In my admiration of your eloquence, the flow of your thought and word choices, I will not lessen or demote the point you chose to make at this critical moment. Thank you so very much!
The idea of being on common ground — I do believe is both idealistic and realistic, no matter which , it is a place to be that respects the beliefs of both sides of an issue. Could be compared to choosing between flying to some destination or going to that destination by ship along the coast ( for example going from Philadelphia to Boston ) Maybe a combination land , air ,sea could be a sort of common ground ,travel by car one third of the way, fly another one third of the way and finish the journey by ship . The possibility that this move by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. signals something in the works that will have a major change in the mindset of many citizens to value the preservation of the. Republic as the most important consideration politically presents a good , worthwhile reason to remember the Abraham Lincoln views as mentioned in the article. Circumstances will determine the balance of how many responsible people react in a way that will favor the common ground approach. The idea of Common Ground. makes sense , it is a matter of principle and will be the most favorable solution to matters that are at the place in the history for this Nation that needs decisiveness tempered by fairness and strength and. love of liberty.
We know the diagnosis even the lengthy and drastic treatment that is required. We even might have a team that is brave enough to start the treatment. Problem is the opposition that refuses any intervention and would rather see the patient dead than cured Common ground is hard to find in the situation such as this one. Those who want the return to health can do many things, walking on water is not one of them.
We have compromised our way into this mess. Of course the GOP- not having a plan or vision for the future , beyond ‘be against anything the Democrats want’- doesn’t help. The spineless GOP bends to whatever the Dems want in hopes of keeping a little power and $$$ while in office. The few time we have a strong POTUS- ( Reagan, Trump) the GOP insiders panic and the democrat blood shows up in them. When a Democrat talks about bi-partisan- I twitch- how are we gonna get screwed this time? Nope, compromising with snakes just lets the poison work slower. Most of us are tired of compromise and lies and nothing happening beyond words and empty promises. Polarized? yep. American patriots against Democrat Communists. The Commies are winning unless America wakes up- pays attention and votes FOR America instead of over petty ‘mean tweets’ and media lies. Like it or not- Trump is our last hope. There is NO ONE else that can get it done in November. Anything less is another Democrat victory. Vote early- sweep the House and Senate and WH.
There are a LOT of people that simply will not vote for Trump. I try to tell those people, well, he’ll be gone in 4 years but we’ll still have a country!! If Harris wins, forget it. When that is the clear choice I believe Trump can get some more votes. I don’t like him either, but have voted for him every time, mostly to save the country I grew up in!
Lincolns words should be pinted, large, in the sky so everone can read them. But would they understand? This election year is so unprecedented (yes, that word is overused), I have to hope good things will come of it. Vote, and wait.
In a society that is not only “post Christian” but also damn proud of it, common ground is impossible except to achieve a few ad hoc objectives. Any attempt for us to unite with secular “progressives” is more likely to be an unequal yoke.
Things are the way they are because the country ,it’s economy and the nation and it’s safety is not even in the equation. Those who call themselves democrats are driven by hate and personal greed. There are still some voters ignorant enough who believe the lies and those who do not care as long as they are taken care of. Those are the ones keeping them going. Not enough to win squarely ,but going.
The only thing I agree with RFK about are vaccine mandates and the fact the DNC actively try to remove him from state ballots. Other then that, he IS a Democrat! But “the enemy of my enemy is my friend”…
I have to confess a nostalgic moment when two ideologies decide it’s again time to work together for the greater good of the United States of America! Thank God for this time in history of the greatest experiment of governance known to man. We now need to vote! All..of..us.
Gotta love that RFK endorsement. Great to know that an insane tree hugging genocide supporting accursed Kennedy is “on the team”.
Now if only Adolph Hitler were still alive as it seems these days the slaughter of an entire ethnic group is all the rage.
I just hope this doesn’t indicate that President Trump still sucks big time at choosing assistants and support personnel. Two legged genital warts like Bolton sure ended up biting Trump in his ass as did Pompeo and sadly I could go on and on,