No More Compromises

Joe Biden’s rhetoric of reconciliation lacks credibility and has little to do with reality. A truly progressive policy from the Democrats will be needed.

Currently, the United States is easily explained if one decides to believe this tale: There are the good guys and the bad guys. The bad ones are mentally corrupt and lie to shape the world. Their leader is a vulgar racist who would probably consider military action if, as a narcissist, he felt slighted. And his disciples would faithfully follow him. In the country itself they have already begun a religious war. The bad guys themselves are saying that Jesus did not bring peace, but a sword.

The good guys, on the other hand, want to give everyone access to education and health care, protect the world from Armageddon and end the nightmare in the White House on Nov. 3. Afterward, one extends a hand to the bad guys and hopes that they will come to their senses again. This will help the country overcome its division.

So much for the tale that is being spread by a lot of liberals and leftists in the United States, and that a lot of Europeans would love to believe. This is, with all due respect, nonsense. The United States is more divided than it has been since the 1960s, when racial segregation was abolished. Common ground is neither in sight, nor is it wanted. Anger, hate, desperation, revulsion and disgust are very present on both sides.

The pastoral rhetoric of reconciliation employed by Democratic candidate Joe Biden throughout his campaign may be a lovely tale, but in reality it is nothing more than a paper-mâché facade: unbelievable and unrelated to reality.

After four years of this internal warfare, a Mahatma Gandhi might be able to seek peace, but not the political left, which experienced Donald Trump’s administration as continuous psychological terror, and witnessed the president’s efforts to weaken democratic institutions, spread hate and agitation, keep minorities from voting, make the rich even richer, downplay the pandemic, alienate the United States from its old allies and push the world further toward a climate crisis.

After President George W. Bush’s term ended, the Republican Party began turning into a bunch of religious warriors; since then, things have only gotten worse. Barack Obama’s attempt to pursue a policy of reconciliation failed as well.

Instead of spreading a sticky mix of sugary pathos, President Biden should tell a progressive tale about promoting reform of the voting system on the morning after his inauguration, a tale of a president who dares to expand the Supreme Court by adding two more justices, who takes away the base of the coal and fracking industry and invests in renewable energy, and who imposes higher taxes on the people who can afford to pay them. He should present himself as a presidential candidate who doesn’t value domestic election results more than international organizations and trans-Atlantic commitments.

The worldwide situation is too serious to spend time dealing with compromise. This is true for the climate crisis as well as for the pandemic. Nine million people in the United States alone have been infected with the virus and more than 225,000 have succumbed to COVID-19. The second wave is currently bringing life to a halt across Europe. With COVID-19 deniers consistently talking about the “China virus” there can be no containing the pandemic. With climate change skeptics, there is no chance for a successful, worldwide fight against escalating global warming.

Europe cannot hope for the reunited States of America. An uncompromising, progressive U.S. policy is more promising.