The two choices facing us are: first, the candidates who do not win will have to choose both to concede and congratulate the winner or to refuse to concede and congratulate the President Elect, whoever that may be. The second choice each of us must make is how we answer the fundamental question “where do we go beyond this highly contentious election?”
We may disagree but our disagreements must not go beyond the pale of civility and our arguments must be about opposing views with reason and logic as the chief instruments of argumentation. Civility requires that personal, degrading and disrespecting attacks are out of bound. We can choose to sink to the abyss of chaos and become the divided people of America or we can choose to ascend to the heights of community building as the united people of America and become what the founders of this nation described as a city set on a hill shinning the light of freedom, liberty, justice, opportunity, growth, development, hope, aspiration, inclusiveness and progress.
We can choose to minimize our diversity by limiting power, position and privilege to out dated demographics, or we can choose to embrace the vast diversity of our nation and empower all people to enjoy equal opportunity to fulfill their potential without regard to their race, religion, gender, preference, or political affiliation.
When we make the choice to move toward constructive community building we are making the choice to embrace the richness of diversity. It is a movement toward openness. It is a movement toward breaking down barriers. It is a movement toward bridge building. It is a movement toward the brotherhood and sisterhood of humanity. Wither we are Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, agnostic, or atheist we are all existentially and ontologically connected.
We have the means, skills and technology to eliminate hunger, poverty and disparity. We have the capacity to build communities that are diverse, integrated and equitable, we must now embrace the moral courage and the political will to do so.
So, in a few days we will elect a President and Vice President, a senate, a congress, governors, state legislators, and municipal leaders. After the election you and I must decide if we will work together to build a constructive, compassionate community or if we will allow our great nation to slip into chaos. I implore us to join together and choose to build community. The future of our great democracy is in our hands not only in terms of how we vote but also in terms of what we do after the election.
Amb. Michael A. Battle, DMin, executive vice president & provost
