We need to find common ground as we head toward the next election

The month of August regularly serves up earth-shaking, history-making events:

• Two years ago in August, the U.S. finally pulled out of Afghanistan after our longest war.

• On Aug. 6, 1945, our nation dropped the first of two atomic bombs on Japan, soon ending World War II. That’s the event at the center of the new film Oppenheimer—literally and historically earth-shaking.

• In 1965, also on Aug. 6, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the landmark Voting Rights Act into law, correcting 100 years of neglect of our moral duty to those enslaved Americans freed by the Civil War.

• And of course, there is this: On Aug. 1, a grand jury in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia indicted Donald Trump, charging him with conspiracy to defraud the U.S.; obstructing an official proceeding of Congress; and conspiracy to violate the right to vote and to have one’s vote counted.

So, here again, as in 1965, the issue is voting rights! In the 45-page charging document, Special Prosecutor Jack Smith asserted that Trump “conspire[d] … to injure, oppress, threaten, and intimidate one or more persons in the free exercise and enjoyment of a right and privilege secured to them by the Constitution and laws of the United States—that is, the right to vote, and to have one’s vote counted.”

Do Americans have a right to expect that our constitutional right to vote will be upheld? Should those officials entrusted with the sacred task of counting and reporting our ballots be free from political intimidation and the threat of violence?

Is there anyone out there who would actually say “no” to those questions?

In recent SLO County elections, we’ve often seen local Republicans complain that our elections officials are either incompetent or partisan in their roles. Former county Clerk-Recorder Tommy Gong left that vital job prior to the 2020 election after sustained (and openly racist) ridicule by local GOP operatives.

With our current chief county elections officer Elaina Cano, all SLO County voters should have confidence that our votes will be counted properly and reported accurately. Throughout county government and in most cities, a spirit of renewed collaboration is in the works.

Many good people on both sides of the political aisle have been working to improve our political atmosphere here in SLO County. We’ve achieved much for which we can be proud in our handling of elections, redistricting, and voting rights.

But the civic pride here in SLO County is endangered, as the national Republican Party falls further and further down a rabbit hole of far-right conspiracy theories. They’re not content simply to follow the questionable lead of their leading candidate for the 2024 nomination; they’re in a full-throated campaign to discredit any election that they do not win. They demonize Democrats and “RINOs” (Republicans in name only).

The Republican Party appears to be uniting behind a demagogue with two impeachments, three indictments charging 78 criminal counts; and several civil cases that ruled him liable for rape, defamation, and fraudulent business dealings. He complains of being the victim of character assassination by the “deep state,” but now even some fellow Republican candidates are suggesting that his central “Big Lie” is just that.

How long before we hear the Trump equivalent of “Et tu, Brute?” as the knives come out … and yet his teeming followers still demand unquestioning loyalty, forming a cult of blind worship to this narcissist who smears and threatens anyone who dares to confront him with the truth.

How do we counter this narrative, as we prepare for a tumultuous election in a mere 15 months? We begin by seeking common ground wherever it can be found with people of either party, and of all ages, races, religious faiths, and gender orientation. We can express confidence and trust in our public officials, both elected and appointed, where they do keep faith with their oaths of office.

I’ve taken that oath on several occasions in SLO City Hall, vowing to uphold the Constitution of the United States and the state of California, and the laws and statutes that govern us. I urge everyone who can honestly take such a vow to run for office or apply for an advisory committee role in your city, or in the county. There are many unfilled positions. You can get more information from your supervisor, your council member, or from the county clerk or your city clerk’s office.

We must all stand firm behind the shared values that frame our Constitution and provide for the primacy of the rule of law. Our civic life is highly vulnerable to those who openly defile them, defraud the public, and poison our civic conversation with vile and sinister accusations against the very people who are responsible for securing our rights.

That’s why the events of August 2023 are so important: The indictment of Donald Trump has set in motion the prosecution and possible conviction of the man most responsible for the toxic and polarized politics of our time.

In August 1974, President Richard M. Nixon resigned from office in disgrace. Maybe by next August, we’ll see a certain former president sentenced for his role in conspiring to launch the Jan. 6 insurrection and to overturn the results of the 2020 election.

One thing is certain: By next August, both parties will have completed their primary elections and caucuses, and they will have named their nominees. We already know the stakes in 2024: Nothing less than the future of our democracy, the security of our planet, and the conditions under which our nation may yet endure. Lincoln warned us in 1862 that “we shall nobly save, or meanly lose, the last best hope of earth.” Δ

John Ashbaugh taught U.S. History and Global Studies at Hancock College and Cal Poly for more than 20 years. Write a response for publication by emailing it to letters@newtimesslo.com.

This article appears in Education Today 2023.