The challenges we face, at home and abroad, are many and daunting — to the point of overwhelming. So it’s understandable that people feel stressed. Some of us feel helpless, even hopeless. Will we ever make real progress on creating a better world?
Both in this country and around the globe, battles are raging between Authoritarianism and Democracy. The 2024 presidential election in this country, in fact, looks to be a repeat battle between an Autocrat and a Democrat.
Elsewhere — in Ukraine for instance — we have been providing arms and other forms of support to help that independent country stay democratic. The benefits of doing so are potentially great. If Ukraine defeats the Russian invaders, it will strike a huge blow against authoritarianism, which will ripple worldwide. It will likely cause the overthrow of autocrat Vladimir Putin and help the Russian people take steps toward establishing a genuine Democracy. There is plenty of moral clarity about this battle — except among Republican autocrats, who admire Putin and resent Ukraine for their involvement in the (first) impeachment of their glorious leader.
Many others, in the meantime, are rethinking providing arms to an authoritarian government in Israel. Israelis have a right to defend themselves, but the extent of the retaliation and retribution against Hamas and, more directly, the people of Gaza offers much less moral clarity. The suffering inflicted is massive, with no end in sight, and however it ends, it will not resolve what ails that region. There will be no winners in this conflict until both sides win.
Our biggest battle, in partnership with all other nations, is saving the planet by making the long overdue transition from fossil fuels to cleaner energy sources. But time is running out, and climate disasters are extremely expensive, causing more and more suffering and devastation every year.
Linked to both climate change and the scourge of authoritarianism is the refugee crisis, which causes much moral confusion among wealthier nations, where many call for closing borders and are tempted to turn to authoritarian leaders — a bewildering paradox. People flee their countries of origin because authoritarian regimes make their lives intolerable, but upon arrival at the borders of non-authoritarian nations, officials try to keep them out, using authoritarian means, including busing them to other cities and dumping them — our latest version of human trafficking. Common sense says you can’t use authoritarian measures to solve a problem caused by authoritarianism. And the problem will only get worse as climate change makes other countries less livable.
We have many domestic battles as well. In addition to reproductive rights, gun violence, etc., we are a nation founded on white supremacy, yet we promise universal equality. This contradiction has existed for almost 250 years, and we’re still trying to live up to our declared creed, which states that all people are created equal and must therefore be treated equally under the law in order to form a more perfect union. Yet despite incremental progress, we still struggle to answer a basic question: Do the lives of the underprivileged matter as much as the lives of the privileged?
Underpinning this is economic inequality, the seemingly eternal battle between rich and poor.
All of these challenges overlap and intersect and seem to be coming to a head at the same time. So it’s not surprising that those who hunger and thirst for progress feel overwhelmed. The good news is that none of these challenges is unsolvable. The bad news is there’s a big fat impediment blocking our path to a better country and a better world. That battle must be fought before all the other challenges can be addressed and resolved:
It is our sine qua non, a Latin term meaning “without which, nothing.” Or, as Wikipedia puts it, “an indispensable and essential action, condition, or ingredient.” Without which, nothing else is possible.
Our sine qua non is defeating Donald Trump and his authoritarian movement, i.e. choosing concern for the common good over vengeance, punishment, retaliation and scorched earth. Until we do that, we cannot make real progress on all our other challenges. That’s our one job. The good news is if Democracy defeats the authoritarians this November, we can usher in a dramatic new era of progress on many fronts.
Defeating the Authoritarian Party and giving the People’s Party a governing majority will save and strengthen Democracy by enabling long overdue reforms that will improve the quality of life for all Americans.
So don’t feel so overwhelmed. One thing to stress about is better than a dozen. For the next 10 months, we have just one mission to accomplish: Defeat Trump. Your political affiliation is irrelevant. If you are on the side of Democracy, nothing else matters.
And if we’re successful, our sine qua non will turn into quae non obstante, totum: “In spite of everything, anything is possible.”
Keep your eyes on that prize.