8: Building the Third American Republic and Overcoming Post‑Truth Politics

The long and conflicted journey toward fulfilling the vision inherent in the American Declaration of Independence, its promise of an inclusive democracy, has from its origins been burdened with the enduring forces dedicated to its denial. They prefer a nation fundamentally built on political, economic and social inequality that is framed by racial, ethnic, class and gender subordination. The United States has been engulfed in this cauldron of dramatically different visions of its purpose. Those flawed but prescient framers of the Declaration were likely unable to digest the full meaning of liberty and equality. However, they painted a vision that could lead to a nation predicated on popular sovereignty, full inclusion, individual liberty, equality before the law and the opportunity for full human possibilities. In short this was the definition of liberalism. They were challenged by the forces who identified with an America permanently bound to the expectation of the slaveholders, namely, that white supremacy, a misogynistic culture, class and ethnic subordination would be maintained. The history of the United States is bounded by the enduring conflict over which view will endure and dominate.