With the certification early Thursday, Jan. 7, of Joe Biden as the next president of the United States and Kamala Harris as the next vice president, we are less than two weeks away from a new presidential administration, which begins Wednesday, Jan. 20.
We are at the start of a new cycle in American politics for the next two or four years, depending on the seat. Two new Sedona City Council members took over in late November. Both the Yavapai County Board of Supervisors and the Sedona-Oak Creek School District held their first meetings with their newly elected members just this week. The Arizona State Legislature convenes Monday, Jan. 11.
Despite Wednesday’s chaos — which will be examined and discussed more thoroughly in the months and years to come — Congress got back to work immediately and showed that violence or not, the people’s business must continue.
It was notable that the congressman who initially objected to Arizona’s certification was U.S. Rep. Paul Gosar [R-District 4], who represents Cottonwood, Prescott and the western part of the state — well, allegedly represents — as his objection suggests that Arizona’s vote and his own election was invalid. Voters will have to wait until 2022 to decide whether to reward or punish that act at the ballot box.
After the very real threat to our democracy and our political institutions with Wednesday’s attempted lazy, aimless and dumb insurrection, we as Americans need to re-examine our discourse, and our rhetoric.
“at the start of a new cycle, we encourage political leaders, activists, voters and all Americans to start fresh, give each other the benefit of the doubt, work toward compromise, demonstrate grace in defeat and magnanimity in victory.”
Words matter.
What we say in City Hall, or on the floors of Congress, or even in print in the newspaper carries weight in the real world.
Often political leaders will use inflammatory rhetoric to prove a point or win an argument, and when criticized for what they said, claim rightly it was just words.
As both a newspaperman and a performance poet, I know the importance of words spoken or written at just the right time.
I’ve often lamented that no matter how flowery or meaningful, or intense, or rhetorically brilliant as my words might be, I can very rarely sway a vote or inspire political action because words are just breath.
Our best words may bring audiences to tears and result in higher poetry slam scores, but as we say, the points don’t matter, the poetry does.
But when those with real political power speak, people listen, and the people act. Sometimes that can lead to violence. Some, especially political neophytes, don’t understand the difference between rhetoric and a call to action.
Political leaders must understand this; it is a prerequisite for the job.
When we argue a political point in a newspaper editorial, we understand the weight of those words that people will listen to what we say. They may go to council meetings, county meetings, school board meetings and re-articulate our points, argue for what we argued for — which is why we take our power with words very seriously.
We only speak when we have the facts to back it up. We only argue for political action when there is just cause and a proper course. Should elected officials not listen, we remind readers they have a course of action to remove them — the ballot box, be it at the next election or, if egregious, with a recall. Autocracies rule with violence. Democracy’s power is words and votes.
We also acknowledge that no matter how fervently we may defend a position, we may lose, and we have lost. But we accept the defeat, move on and look toward the next political issue to discuss.
Elected officials and the American electorate must also understand that, no matter how passionately we may defend a point or argue a cause, when we lose the argument, we accept the loss and work together on the next issue.
Thus, at the start of a new cycle, we encourage political leaders, activists, voters and all Americans to start fresh, give each other the benefit of the doubt, work toward compromise, demonstrate grace in defeat and magnanimity in victory.
Remember, no matter how bristly our rhetoric may be, words are just words, and our institutions and offices will outlive the office holders. The power of the people is more important than the people in power.
Christopher Fox Graham
Managing Editor
