As America’s political “world series” wraps up, let’s focus on the long game

How about that World Series? Following the epic clash of two storied franchises, Dodgers fans are still celebrating, while Yankees fans are misty-eyed about what might have been. As for me, I’m a diehard SF Giants fan, and I’m already excited about next season … looking at you, Buster Posey!

The beauty of baseball, America’s pastime, is that there’s always next season.

And this week? America’s “world series” of politics comes to a head. After demanding our attention, ingesting our donations, soliciting our votes, and triggering our passions for months on end, Team Democrat and Team Republican will face off in “the most consequential election of our lifetimes.”

Who will win, who will lose??

Despite the confident assertions of countless prognosticators, none of us knows yet whether we will soon be celebrating like Dodgers fans or mourning like Yankees fans. Crazy.

How long will it take for us to know??

A day, a week, longer? This, too, is uncertain.?

Will this election cycle get ugly??

Will the days ahead have more of a “storm the battlements” vibe, or more of a “get up and go to work” vibe? Incredibly, and depressingly, even this is uncertain.?

(For a fun, reassuring take on why we’re probably not heading for civil war, watch this short TikTok video.)

All of these uncertainties are disquieting. They create voids into which we collectively pour our anxieties, suspicions, grievances, and worst-case scenarios.?

Our relationships, communities, and country -- already frayed and fragile -- strain further as we use imperfect math to calculate the risks of choosing badly, of not knowing for too long, of turning against each other in the process.

But in the days ahead, inch by inch, win or lose, we will gradually be relieved of these uncertainties as ballots are grindingly counted, results are called, skirmishes are settled, and America’s next political season comes into view.?

What will we do next?

Now that’s a great question. At Civic Health Project, the organization I lead, we’re feeling impatient to get through this election and energized to jumpstart critical work on the other side.?

Let’s face it, no matter who wins in this election cycle, they aren’t going to solve all our problems. Like it or not, we the people have a lot of work to do.?

Across our towns, schools, workplaces, churches, clubs, councils, across all the beautiful tapestry of our civic life, we the people must address America’s yearning needs for cultural reconciliation, democracy renovation, and societal innovation.?

Across our formal institutions -- the civilian, military, economic, academic, and other entities that shape American civic life at the highest levels -- we the people must choose to renovate and renew, rather than disparage and dismantle, these intersecting pillars of American strength.

Across our media, social media, and entertainment channels, we the people must signal with our preferences that we crave narratives of solution and connection, and we reject narratives of cynicism and division.?

Across the chasm of this turbulent election, all of this work waits for us.?

(Visit Conversation.us to find out how Americans of all backgrounds and beliefs are lowering the heat and finding a way forward together.)?

So yes, this week, let’s prepare to celebrate like Dodgers fans or mourn like Yankees fans.??

Then, as quickly as we can, let’s find in ourselves and each other the grace, respect, humility, curiosity, and hope to engage together in our ongoing work of civic repair and renewal.?

We, the people, are democracy. Let’s get to work. Let’s build.