It’s winter: dark, dreary and cold.

There is a palpable feeling of dread in America as we face the upcoming 2024 political season. Pundits wonder why everyone is so grumpy. Positive economic news fails to change the national mood or lift the electoral prospects of President Joe Biden. We are told not to give in to our despair. No one wants to see Biden vs. Donald Trump redux, but that seems to be where we are headed.

Biden, appearing old and infirm, potentially drained of independent votes by RFK Jr., or someone else, could lose to Trump, despite Trump’s obvious unfitness to be president given his rhetoric — “dictator on day one,” “poisoning the blood,” “termination of all rules … even those found in the Constitution” — his lies and the charges and cases against him. Even many of Trump’s supporters believe he is a criminal. But the Colorado and Maine decisions are going to be reversed. Trump is not going to be removed from the ballot.

No wonder America is gloomy.

There is a reason our religious traditions celebrate with light at this dark season. Christmas in the West, and the New Year, were always symbols of the rebirth of hope as the winter solstice was reached. In these traditions, we are reminded that our dreams of a new and better world are not illusions.

We have a political prophet in the American tradition who taught this same lesson. He borrowed the sentiment, but the lyric was all his own. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. reminded us that the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.

This is not a dream. This is human history. Humanity learns. We move forward. We don’t go back, even though there are ups and downs.

Moral progress is like the stock market. You make gains, but you have to be patient in the downturns. Slavery is abolished, but racism takes another hundred years to recede. Colonialism is undone, but market domination by the developed world holds back millions of people.

America is a part of this progress. We bequeathed a new idea to the world in the 18th century: freedom and democracy bound by the rule of law. We call it constitutional democracy. It is our national creed.

Our system has its flaws. But right now, it is our inability to work together, not our system of government, that is tarnishing our reputation and weakening our resolve. We are our own worst enemies.

Yet for all our mistakes, no one is offering anything better. The strong men of the world — Xi Jinping of China and Vladimir Putin of Russia — and their slightly more democratic imitators — Narendra Modi of India, Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey, Viktor Orban of Hungary — are offering nationalism, populism and hatred. They despise open debate, open economies and open politics. They fear questions and journalists.

They, and all their would-be followers, are leading their countries to dead ends. They are not the future.

Similarly, in the Middle East, nationalist religious fantasies prevent two peoples from sharing a land in peace. That is not the future either.

Constitutional democracy is humanity’s hope.

If you don’t believe me, just look at Ukraine, where after two years of war, and against all odds, the hope for freedom and democracy has stopped the Red Army in its tracks. And if we just continue our support, Russian aggression will not win.

Freedom and democracy are here to stay. Whatever the political outcomes in 2024, those results will pass. Trump is a threat, sure, but ultimately he is impotent to destroy our country. One hundred years from now, America, and those inspired by her story, will remain a beacon of hope. Constitutional democracy has faced far more potent challenges than we face today. It has always come through.

This spirit of hope will spark our renewal. When we realize that Dr. King was right that we slowly move toward justice, we are freed to act with courage, confident in the future. We see, as he did, that politics is not a zero sum game of power, but a common seeking after a more just world. And we realize, as he also did, that our opponents are not enemies. They are future allies. They may even have something to teach us.

So, if you are worried about the future, change it. Seek out those with whom you have political disagreements and begin a real conversation. Remember, though, you have to start such a conversation by listening.

You will find that your fears are shared and that there is far more common ground than you had imagined.

Politicians often betray us. But as citizens, we can remain friends.

Bruce Ledewitz is a professor and the Adrian Van Kaam C.S.Sp. Endowed Chair in Scholarly Excellence in the Thomas R. Kline School of Law of Duquesne University. The views expressed do not represent those of Duquesne University.

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