The 2020 election is over (yes, Donald, it is), and we now move into a new phase of American history. Here's a thought experiment that could help put things into perspective.
Let's say we think about American politics as war, with two opposing sides battling for dominance. There is trench warfare - in the Congress and state legislatures - and there are major battles every two years, and very major battles every four years.
One side just won a very major battle and will control the Executive branch of government. So let's talk about winners and losers.
When a war is won, a peace treaty is usually agreed upon by both (or all) sides. Often, the winner will agree to help the loser rebuild its economy, infrastructure and other aspects of its society that were damaged or destroyed by the war. And so we can expect the new administration to offer assistance to the people on the losing side in the form of stimulus money, economic development, health care (especially regarding the current pandemic) educational assistance, &c. In other words, give things to the losing side that will hopefully help them salve their resentment towards the winners.
There is a major problem with this analogy of war and politics; the losers didn't really lose. Unlike the period after a war, the losers (Republicans) still have all of their military leaders in place (in politics this is the electeds), and, importantly, their propaganda machinery is still cranking out the propaganda (in this analogy, Fox News and its ilk). The losing side still controls the judicial system (judges appointed by Trump). And so the analogy breaks down.
The important point of this thought experiment is this: the Democrats won a major battle, but the war rages on. Without some kind of peace treaty between the two political sides, we can expect the battles to rage on. If very recent history tells us anything, one of the generals on the losing side (Mitch McConnell) will rally his troops to resist any kind of cooperation or collaboration with "the enemy." As the war continues, citizens on all sides will be the ones who suffer, except for the very wealthy class, who fund the generals.
In a rational society, everyone would understand that politics is not war, and that governance is an activity in which all sides work together, always with some disagreements, to find a path forward that improves society. The job description of members of the U.S. Congress is simple, as stated in Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution. The Congress "...shall have Power To...provide for the common Defense and General welfare of the United States...." The Section contains a list of Congressional Powers, all of which pertain to providing for the common Defense and the general Welfare. Nowhere does the Constitution state that elected members of Congress must swear to defend their political party; in fact, the oath taken by members of Congress has them swear to "support" the Constitution of the United States (see Article VI).
President-elect Biden and many others stress that the great divide in our country has to be healed. This can only happen through leadership at many levels. Unfortunately, the Congress of the United States, the legislative body that was established to provide for the general welfare of the country, has devolved into partisan warfare, and the general welfare has suffered greatly. This has to stop. Partisanship in Congress, and the Executive Branch, leads to partisanship among citizens.
On January 20, 2021, then President Joe Biden will have a daunting set of tasks before him. He alone will not be able to heal the divisions in this country; only the combined efforts of all members of Congress can accomplish that task. Perhaps that is a fever dream.
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