What we experienced as a nation last week left a serious wound in our collective psyche. Reflections upon the capitol siege have left us traumatized. For a few hours, our confidence in the stability of our institutions and leaders to provide security in democracy was shaken. The Constitution, through disrespect for its authority, was attacked without regard for its ability to survive. We as a people now must deal with the open wounds left as a result of the battery.
Immediately after the Civil War marked by General Lee’s surrender at Appomattox, fear of the unknown was prevalent. Conspiracy theories abounded. Bitterness between conflicting political movements intensified. Once reality became apparent that the war was actually over, first shock and then adrenalin defined the parameters of emotional cognizance. Once true reality finally took hold that the North was victorious, the South had lost, and the laws of the Union would prevail, numbing soreness surrounding the wound set in.
In health science, the body’s process for healing and recovery from a major wound is called “the cascade of healing.” The healing process of the body politic of a nation is very similar. The first phase is hemostasis, stop the bleeding. In the human body, the blood coagulates to stabilize the system. In the body politic, the rule of law is enforced, and in this case, the government moves toward the inauguration of a new President on January 20th.
The second phase is inflammatory. The temperature of the human body rises destroying bacteria invading the wound. The body politic replicates this cleansing by arresting and indicting insurgents. Impeachment of the President may or may not be justified. The rule of law must prevail.
The third phase is proliferative. The human body fills in the wound and covers the gap with new skin. In the body politic, the wound is filled with newly elected officials committed to providing a new covering of leadership pursuant to the dictates of the Constitution. Next week on January 20th, the body politic will fill the wound and provide new direction.
The fourth phase is maturation. The human body nurtures the new skin. It matures in its strength and heals the wound. In the body politic, a new order matures and provides new stability for the operations of democracy.
The natural healing process of the human body is very complicated. It is an absolute marvel. In each phase, specialized cells are produced to aid and facilitate the healing process. Each stage is susceptible to invasion from outside elements that can further infect the wound. Not caring for the woundproperly can reverse the healing process.
And, so it is in the body politic.
Following the Civil War, Reconstruction of the South took years. Many missteps were experienced. And a generation passed before the egregious offenses of the conflict began to fade into the mist of aged memories. What was most successful in curing the injuries was the commitment during the proliferative stage of filling and covering the wound with policy, promises, and genuine gestures that were meaningful emotionally to both sides.
One such healing gesture was offered yesterday by Representative James Clyburn of South Carolina. He proposed making the song “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” known as the Black national anthem, to become the country’s national hymn. This unifying proposal makes perfect sense. The hymn’s history transcends the Civil War, and therefore, the ethnic conflict in the United States. Acknowledging this composition in such an official capacity confirms our national recognition of mutually beneficial cultural diversity and the equal contribution of all Americans. This may seem inadequate in scope. But a heartfelt propitious submission could lay a sound foundation for the proliferative phase of our nation’s healing.
Abraham Lincoln was faced with the difficult task of delivering a second inaugural address while the wounds of the nation were open, painful, and still extremely emotional. He chose his words carefully. He cast no blame. He claimed no righteousness of cause. Nor did he mete any persecution.
The closing paragraph of the address is one of the most memorable, quoted, and referenced passages of any political speech delivered at any time. Then, as today, half the country was in great pain.
“With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation’s wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan, to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations.”
Staying in the text of a generic healing of the body politic, the next President of the United States will be faced with the same difficult task as Abraham Lincoln when he addressed the nation on March 4, 1865. Deep wounds heal slowly. On January 20, 2021, the nation will still be bitterly divided. The wounds are deep and life-threatening to the body politic. Reconciliation of spirit is critical. Acceptance of each other as equal in purpose, in contribution, and in destiny must be our national mission. Words that bind the wounds of a nation are the medicinal, soothing notes that give pause to emotional turmoil. Peace of mind, founded in brotherly love, begins the process of allegiance to new structure in the final phase of maturation.
May each of our prayers be for healing the wounds of our nation. And, may our national prayers be for each of us to unite in support of the next President of the United States.
The survival of our democracy depends upon individual binding commitment to bind our nation's wounds.
My name is Marc Nuttle and this is what I believe.
What do you believe?