We are living in befuddling times!

• Why did we elect for President a man who is so obviously lacking in good qualities?
• Why do Republicans tolerate his violations?
• Why is regard so low for the political party that brought us the New Deal, the Great Society, Civil Rights, and more-universal health care?

Colin Woodward’s book (Woodward 2011) “American Nations” offers an idea that cuts through the fog of today’s politics. He observes that there are two opposing philosophies about the fundamental purpose of government. The first philosophy was practiced in colonial New England townships where all the men gathered to decide on policy issues of the day. This philosophy assumes that the role of government is to serve the general welfare of the public, including—but not especially—the wealthiest of the community. I call this a government “of the people, by the people, and for the people” (Lincoln 1863) or “OBF” government. The alternative philosophy derives from the South, where plantation-owners imposed laws to serve their own interests. To put it bluntly, their purpose of government was to enable the rich and powerful to live and do as they please. I call this an “RP” government. Elements of both philosophies are sprinkled throughout the US Constitution.

A government that serves only the rich and powerful is inherently not popular, so those who would advance this vision within a democracy must necessarily dissemble and they must divide the populace that—if united—would oppose their agenda. They must lie about their own intentions, they must lie about the nature of their opponents, and they must lie to put sub-populations in competition with one another. For years, Republicans have argued for fiscal responsibility and family values. But, as long-time Republican operative Stuart Stevens (Stevens 2020) wrote: “It Was All a Lie”—in fact, the Republican propaganda was a moralistic wrap to disguise the true RP agenda that has become so obvious today. And they have disparaged and corrupted the OBF institutions created by Democrats. The “Tax-and-Spend Democrat” epithet simultaneously maligned OBF policies and pushed Democrats to abandon their good-government objectives. Democrats have been confused since the 1990s, when President Clinton introduced free trade agreements and “ended welfare as we know it.”

Preventing unified opposition to the RP mission begins with anti-Black racism. The de-humanizing effect of slavery set the foundation for this persistent rift in American society. Racism shifts the attention of non-privileged Whites from economic common cause with Blacks to an emotional common cause with elite Whites. The competitively shifting caste positions of other ethnicities confuses the social landscape in support of the RP mission, but anti-Black racism buttresses it all.

The filter of competing philosophies of government helps to answer the questions posed at the beginning:

• We elected Trump twice because he called out the fact that we are living with a government that serves the rich and powerful. He was elected to smash it.
• Republicans continue to support him because they agree with his actual mission, which is to codify an RP government.
• Democrats are scorned because their accomplishments have been successfully smeared, they have backed off from their support of their OBF mission, and they have been defined as caring more about promoting norm-challenging lifestyles than about their core message of providing good government that serves all the people.

Now, I am relieved to see a generation of politicians reasserting an OBF vision of government. Their words take the form of addressing the wealth gap, or breaking monopoly power, or making the government work for all of us. The sages Robert Reich and Heather Cox Richardson are dispelling economic and political myths (or lies) that have served the RP agenda. Pete Butegieg, James Talarico, and Troy Jackson are a few of the politicians who are advocating a full reset of government that is more wholly of, by, and for the people

But, with the exception of Doug Jones in Alabama, they are not talking about the one poison that must be purged at this moment. The author and philosopher Yuval Harari (Harari 2026) argues the value of the French Revolution’s demand for Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity. Our Constitution (in theory) established the principals of Liberty and Equality, but Fraternity is also necessary—we must feel that we are all in the same boat. Anti-Black racism lurks like a virus deep in our culture. Although it may sleep for a time, it can be activated at need to cripple the OBF mission and to support a government that serves the rich and the powerful.

The effort to tackle racism head-on will not replace the fight to defend our democracy; I believe that it is a necessary component of that fight.

Sources

Harari, Y. N. (2026, May 26). The Ezra Klein Show. (E. Klein, Interviewer)

Lincoln, A. (1863, November 19). Gettysburg Address. Gettysburgh, Pennsylvania.

Stevens, S. (2020). It Was All a Lie: How the Republican Party Became Donald Trump.

Woodard, C. (2011). American Nations: A History of the Eleven Rival Regional Cultures of North America.