Las Vegas Sun

March 19, 2024

where i stand:

Light and hope will distinguish the Philadelphia story

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair …”

That was written in 1859 by novelist Charles Dickens. It was set in London and Paris at the time of the French Revolution. That, if you recall, was the rising up of the French peasant class against the aristocracy that had oppressed the working men and women of France to the point of breaking. Similar events were taking place in England.

The novel was called “A Tale of Two Cities,” and it has been required reading for almost every generation of Americans — well, at least through my generation — so we would understand some vital lessons of history.

By this time next weekend, we will have relived a tale of two cities in our own time. Those cities are Cleveland and Philadelphia.

They are the sites of the Republican National Convention and the Democratic National Convention. And because we cannot, no matter how hard we try, predict the future, I will predict what has already passed.

The Republican conclave in Cleveland was itself a tale of two cities. There were the best of times: the Trump children speaking about their father and their lives. They also were the worst of times: the refusal of Ted Cruz to forgive Trump’s Heidi-bashing by withholding an endorsement of Trump, and the need to escort Cruz’s wife from the convention for fear of her personal safety; the self-inflicted pain suffered by Melania Trump because she pilfered a few choice lines from Michelle Obama; the over-the-top entrance through smoke (no mirrors) of the candidate himself; and Trump’s willingness to throw our longtime NATO allies to the Russian wolves for personal pique or some other, equally disturbing reason.

What I do predict is that what comes this week in the City of Brotherly Love will be something very different.

There won’t be crowd-frenzy speechifying that leads to calls to “lock up” The Donald or “hang” him high. There won’t be an answer to the simple question, “Do you believe in science?” that has half the room raising its hands and the other half booing. And the fact-checkers will not have to work overtime.

Philadelphia will advance an age of wisdom while it has been clear that Cleveland exalted the age of foolishness. Light versus dark and hope versus despair will distinguish Philadelphia from Cleveland.

In Dickens’ book we know the answer to the question, “Why?” In the United States, two centuries later, the answer to the same question has a lot to do with the fear and anger that permeates our country. We can blame the rise of the Islamic State or the effects of the Iraq War or something that predates those two events. We can blame the crash of 2008 and the ensuing economic devastation that has still many victims yearning for the better, good-old times. We can even blame a feeling among some in our country that the nature of our Anglo-Saxon roots is forever changed in favor of an emerging America whose skin is darker and whose experiences are more worldly but less “American colonial.”

There are lots of reasons, as there always are, that drive people every four years to choose one candidate for president over the other.

But what there hasn’t been, until perhaps now, is an electorate driven by the lesser angels of our nature rather than our better ones. And an election forged in words of division rather than words that would bring us together.

At the times in our history when it seemed we were spinning out of control, the voices that rang true were the ones that showed us a way forward with hope and confidence rather than the those that have emanated from Cleveland, which fan the fires of fear that have defined this year’s contest.

I suspect in Philadelphia the Democrats — whose party has its own issues, to be sure — will find a way to unify not just their party but their country in an effort to elect a person who can do the job of president.

It is “A Tale of Two Cities” but, in the end, we have to have a real story about one country: the United States. How we write our next chapter depends on whether we vote for the best of times or the worst.

Brian Greenspun is owner, editor and publisher of the Sun.

Join the Discussion:

Check this out for a full explanation of our conversion to the LiveFyre commenting system and instructions on how to sign up for an account.

Full comments policy