Morning in America After Dark Night of the Soul

What we have witnessed in the last month of politics in America has seldom been seen in history. Two aged Presidents running against each other with neither popular or wanted by a majority of the country. A disastrous performance in presidential debate held historically early by one of the major party nominees. Calls for that nominee to step aside and division within the party about the direction to go. The nominee steps aside very late in the campaign.

Just looking at that unfolding one would normally predict the result would be more division and chaos, and increased disappointment and disillusionment of the electorate. But the opposite of that prediction has actually occurred.

As of today, in the last week the Democratic Party has unified nearly completely behind Vice-President Harris. Enthusiasm for her candidacy has risen dramatically among Democrats and Independents. Her approval numbers have gone from a rather significant net negative among voters to a net positive, and look to continue to rise. Her favorability among swing voters has moved a net 23 points in ten days. And the outlook for her in the electoral college continues to brighten.

Why did this happen in ways most people would not have predicted (though I humbly assert I had suggested this would happen ten days ago)?

Understanding the nature of how all this occurred and where we are today as a country is best highlighted by thinking about positive transformational change that occurs in our own life or in the life a family member of friend.

If we or a loved one is in a dark place, has lost hope or optimism, and is dissatisfied with the choices before us, we have no idea where to turn. Spanish mystic St. John of the Cross referred to this as “the dark night of the soul”. Our faith in ourselves or our beliefs is in crisis and our emotional pain is a huge struggle. We try to internally adjust or move out of the darkness, but it just does not seem possible or we think it will take way too much work or we don’t trust change can occur. And then someone does something that completely alters our perception of the problem, and we see light. This person makes a sacrifice so personal and selfless that it opens our eyes that hope exists and decency abides.

Next another person in our life shows up with energy and joy and leadership to help us in this exact moment when a birth of hope is occurring. They are positive and forward looking and call us to a journey that will be meaningful and fun. A journey of purpose and of play. We stand up and realize there is a choice we can make and there is real possibility to get out of the darkness. It took the sacrifice of one and the leadership and joy of another to push away the dark and show us the light. And we now have agency and personal responsibility of transforming our life to the better.

This is exactly what happened within our country the last ten days. We all knew deep down we had a hunger for transformation, to be in a better place, and to have real meaning and joy in our politics. But the darkness was so bleak, we couldn’t see the possibility of the light. Our country has been in its own “dark night of the soul” with a crisis of faith in our politics and each other as citizens.

President Biden gave us that first step by a historic act of self-sacrifice for the greater good. He altered our view of the selfishness and ego-driven politics. It was transformational to our political psyche.

And then Vice-President Harris steps up as a joyful warrior, grabbing our hands, and saying let’s do this and let’s have some fun. She with hope and optimism leads us into the light and out of the darkness we seem to have been in for the last ten years. And as she has done this, the pent up desire for a different politics and a desire for a transformed democracy flowed spontaneously from citizens across our nation.

To get to this unpredictable and transformational moment, to move from the “dark night of the soul”, we needed three things to create the opportunity and opening: the selfless act of one leader, the arrival of another made for our collective psyche, and our response to all this by standing up and moving forward. When this kind of change happens in our own life we are never the same person as before, and so too for our country. Who we were last week is gone, and it is time for us all to make something new. Let’s do this. And bring meaning, joy, and fun back to our politics.