Let’s take account of where we are as a country and the unique opportunity we have right now.
We’re still divided. The election has only confirmed just how divided we are. Republicans (for the most part) came out and voted for Trump, and Democrats came out and voted for Biden. Nearly 71,000,000 people felt the policy-alignment they had with Trump outweighed the personal and "temperament” shortcomings of the president. 71,000,000 people don’t trust Biden to protect their interests from what they see as the dismantling of American capitalism, individualism and religious-faith that have guided our nation for centuries. There is no trust across the chasm today - and no amount of speech-making will change that.
We have a window of opportunity. It will take years of work and compromise to bridge the chasm, but right now we have a unique and fleeting opportunity to jumpstart the process. Once we return to bickering on individual issues it will be too late. But if we lay foundations of tentative trust today - as we pause to transition power - we will be able to take unified action on other issues much sooner than we would without that basis. Those foundations will be tenuous, but can solidify over time.
We need several huge non-stupid and non-futile gestures right now, and Joe Biden is just the guy to do it:
- Announce that you will Pardon Donald Trump for any crimes committed in office. Show Republicans that we are serious about focusing on the future, and eliminate the inevitable rancor, divisiveness and distraction that would accompany any prosecutions. Healing our country is more important than the sins of any one man.
- Announce that you will not pack the court. The threat of packing the court feels as unjust and manipulative to Republicans as the debacle of holding up the Garland nomination felt to Democrats. Let’s de-weaponize the issue in the name of healing.
- Include at least 2 Republicans in your cabinet. Inclusion like this shows Republicans that we are willing to work across the aisle, and brings practical advantages. Embracing influencers and policy makers into the administration will help garner support for compromise-based legislation.
I’m a lifelong Democrat, and most of my liberal friends will disagree strongly with this post - especially the idea of pardoning Trump. Even writing this down was difficult for me personally. But as I’ve lived with the idea for the past two days, I realize that I care more about being able to converse again with my many conservative friends and relatives than I like the idea of holding Trump accountable. The more I sit with the idea, the happier I am letting go of the past; I’ve found some peace in writing this post and imagining that future.
It is hard to forgive. It is hard to move past the pain we’ve felt for four years. It is hard not to attempt to balance the scales and seek a fair accounting of past sins. But when the cost of justice is the continuation of the vitriolic chasm we have in our country, we must not pay that price.
