Be willing to lose to keep freedoms

The primary condition necessary for a people to govern itself is the willingness to lose.

As long as you are willing to allow control of your government to be decided through free and fair elections, as long as you are willing to live by the result even if those opposing you may win, then democracy can survive. But that’s a more fragile compact than we might recognize.

It requires trust that the constitutional system and its institutions are strong enough to protect you and your rights even when you are on the losing end. It requires trust that what you have in common with your fellow citizens outweighs your differences. And unfortunately, trust of both types is wearing thin in these United States of America. Politics has taken on an air of desperation, as if the price of losing has become a price too dangerous to pay.

Look, I believe that Donald Trump is a bad man who will prove a very bad president, and that many who have supported him will one day cringe in shame at having done so. That said, some of the reactions I have witnessed on the left go well beyond a critique of that sort, with words such as “treason” and “Hitler” being bandied about. Those are nuclear terms and thus should never be used cavalierly.

Yet I have no doubt whatsoever that the reaction would be worse — much worse — if the roles were reversed. Imagine if Trump had been the one who overcame blatant foreign intervention and who won the popular vote by 2.8 million votes, yet had still lost the presidency? The man would have lost his ever-loving mind, and the protests from the right would have made those of the left seem mild.

Remember, Trump whined for weeks prior to the election that the outcome was being rigged, thus poisoning the minds of his followers against acceptance of potential defeat. Even now, in victory, he claims that the only reason that he lost the popular vote is because because millions of illegal immigrants were allowed to cast ballots. In effect, he remains unwilling to acknowledge the legitimacy of his popular-vote loss even though it is merely symbolic.

In North Carolina, where the GOP governor narrowly lost a re-election battle, things have really gotten weird. Republicans hurriedly called the Legislature into special session to strip the governor’s office of power before turning it over to the Democratic victor, the political equivalent of a retreating army burning down the capital city rather than letting it fall to the enemy.

Republican reaction to Russian intervention into our presidential election is even more troubling. As President Obama noted, those Americans who buy Russia’s denial “genuinely think that the professionals in the CIA, the FBI, our entire intelligence infrastructure — many of whom, by the way, served in previous administrations and who are Republicans — are less trustworthy than the Russians.” Those same Republicans have also found a new fondness for Vladimir Putin. Two years ago, according to a YouGov poll, just 9 percent of Republicans approved of Putin, yet in a poll taken earlier this month, that approval number had soared to 37 percent. Two years ago, 51 percent of Republicans strongly disapproved of Putin. That number has plummeted to 14 percent. Just as many Republicans who would otherwise despise Trump have embraced him as a means to defeat their most-hated enemy, they are now embracing Putin, a murderous dictator.

That’s how much they have come to fear losing.

Say Merry Christmas today and smile

Bah Humbug! It seems that letter-writers are either “discussing” Muslims or “cussing” Trump. Please allow me to introduce you to the season. This is a time of love and celebration. It’s Christmas with care in your heart. Don’t be the turkey at the table. Get with it! That’s right. Merry Christmas and smile!

It’s a common theme in letters-to-the editor from Trump supporters to mock those who voted against him. They sneer at the actions of a handful of distraught Hillary Clinton supporters and assure each other over and over that those who oppose Trump “don’t get it.” They cry out that we should just give Trump a chance. Let me assure the letter writers that those of us outside the conservative bubble get it. We understand that it took massive gerrymandering, fake scandals that cost us millions in needless investigations, fake news, the Electoral College, interference by a foreign power and unconscionable attempts to suppress votes to get their spectacularly unqualified candidate into office.

We also remember the last time a Republican president held power and how Americans always suffer under their “trickle-down” theory. We get that corporations will be favored over individuals and that laws in place to protect all Americans, especially the blue-collar voters who helped sweep Mr. Trump into office, will be removed, endangering lives and communities. So we “get it.” What we don’t get is how, out of 318 million Americans, Donald Trump is the best the Republicans can do. Trump voters can also be assured that Americans will give President-elect Trump exactly the same chance that the Republicans gave Barack Obama.

Electoral College is obsolete

A recent letter (“We have Electoral College for Reason,” Readers Write, Dec 14), justifies retaining the Electoral College as a way to curb progressive voters in “California and New York” from deciding “who the next president will be.” Sure enough, two of the presidential candidates this century have won the popular vote, yet lost the presidency. Whether you liked Hillary Clinton’s candidacy or not, fair-minded people agree that anything less than one-person, one-vote, is unfair.

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Submissions should be 600 words or less. Email columns to Opinion Editor Andre Jackson at andre.jackson@ajc.com. Columns submitted to the AJC may be published, republished and made available in the AJC or other databases and electronic formats.