John,
Weeks like this make you worry America is headed to a very dark place.
On Wednesday night in DC, a gunman – shouting “Free Palestine” – murdered two young Israeli embassy employees outside the Capital Jewish Museum. The FBI described it as a “depraved act of antisemitic terrorism,” which is becoming shockingly common, as the No Labels research team found this week. You can read more here.
Go online, and it will not take you long to find people or groups endorsing this violence because they believe the killer shared their political beliefs. This virus will keep spreading unless leaders and regular citizens alike have the courage and clarity to call out and condemn this kind of hatred wherever they find it.
Somehow, we as Americans need to find a way to find the light even when it feels we are being enveloped by darkness. This weekend, which culminates with Memorial Day, offers us a chance to reflect on how America finds a way back.
George Washington once described the establishment of America’s democracy as “the last great experiment for promoting human happiness.” In the years to come, so many brave men and women would give their lives to sustain this experiment even as enemies at home and abroad sought to destroy it. Thanks to these brave service members, America is still here and stands as the oldest continuous democracy in the world.
It cannot just be an accident of history that America has stood for this long. There has to be something deeper, and there is. Each generation of Americans has had to reckon with evil, with those willing to kill to make a point, foment hate, or upend our democracy. But there have always been enough good, decent people to push back and push this country forward on our endless journey to become a more perfect union. That is the spirit we need to tap into during this dark and difficult time.
If we need an example for inspiration, we do not need to look any further than the fallen Marines, soldiers, and sailors we remember this weekend. On the first Memorial Day, in 1868, Congressman James Garfield surveyed the rows of graves at Arlington National Cemetery and said, “For love of country, they accepted death, and thus resolved all doubts, and made immortal their patriotism and their virtue.” Another way to say it is that they died for us. They died so that generations of future Americans would have the chance to live in a free country.
That is the gift they have entrusted to us. We owe it to them to cherish it and pass it on to the next generation. On this Memorial Day, let us remember the brave men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice. Let us remember that the good they fought for is still within us, and that we can find it once again.
Thank you,
Liz Morrison and Margaret White
Co-Executive Directors
P.S. – After we all take some time away with friends and families this weekend, No Labels needs your help to drive attendance and engagement for our first-of-its kind public bipartisan meeting of House and Senate members on June 26. If you have not signed up yet for the event livestream, or want to invite friends and family, you can do so here. We hope you can make it and bring others along with you for this powerful, and necessary, meeting for our leaders to discuss shared goals and priorities.
