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History as Prophecy
History prophesies better times ahead. But to get there, we must hold the line today.
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It is easy to look at the state of our democracy — the gridlock, the shattered norms, the attacks on the rule of law — and conclude that the American experiment is failing. It can feel like the walls are caving in.
But if you zoom out, the story changes. We aren’t necessarily witnessing a funeral. We are witnessing the violent, chaotic demolition that precedes a rebuild and renovation.
Historians and political scientists have long noted that American history moves in cycles. We oscillate between eras of “Private Interest” (individualism) and “Public Purpose” (community). We are currently at the messy end of a long era of fragmentation. The “Winter” is here, and the winds are tearing at the siding.
With that in mind, we need two distinct forces working in tandem to ensure we don’t allow the current attempts at an interior demolition to turn into a total tear-down. We need the Guardians to protect the structural integrity of the house, and the Builders to be ready to construct what comes next.
The Danger of the Demolition Phase
There is a seduction for some in the idea of “burning it all down” to start fresh — a sentiment often pushed by the very forces currently destabilizing our institutions.
But history warns us: While social cycles dictate that culture and policy must evolve, the foundation must remain. In architecture, you can gut the interior of a historic home, knock down walls, and modernize the wiring — but if you destroy the foundation, the project is over.
Our foundation is the Constitution, the rule of law, and our democratic institutions.
This is why the work of “holding the line” — the grueling, unglamorous work of Campaign Legal Center’s pro-democracy litigation, which is defending our freedoms, the rule of law, and voting rights — is actually the most critical work being done today.
Organizations and lawyers who are in the trenches defending the Constitution aren’t trying to “go back to the way things were.” They are ensuring that the structure survives the stress test. They are the reason that, when the dust settles, we will still be a Constitutional Republic capable of improvement, rather than a pile of rubble.
They are holding the line so that there is something left to renovate.
Enter the Builders: The Millennial Destiny
If the legal warriors and institutionalists are the Guardians keeping the foundation from cracking under the weight of the current chaos, who are the Builders?
History points to the Millennials (as a so-called “Elder Millennial” or “Xennial”, I may be biased toward this theory!).
Often caricatured as “entitled,” this generation is actually shaping up to be a reconstruction generation. Having come of age and experiencing early adulthood during financial collapse, pandemics, and political polarization, they possess a unique set of traits that history says we need for the next phase:
Institutional Craving: After decades of seeing things break, they are obsessed with making things work.
Collaboration: They value consensus and community over the “lone wolf” mentality of previous eras.
Civic Mindedness: They are voting, organizing, and engaging at higher rates than previous generations did at the same age.
The Guardians are buying us time. They are fighting in the courts to ensure the democratic machinery remains intact. And that is exactly what our Builders will need — a battered, yet unbroken, baton with which to run.
The Bright America Strategy
The Bright America we see on the horizon — a place of renewed community, functional government, and shared purpose (with plenty of disagreement, as we’ve always had) — relies on this partnership.
If we let the rule of law crumble now, there will be no tools for the emerging leaders to build with. But if we hold the line — if we aggressively defend our freedoms and norms through this chaotic transition — we’ll have a stable platform from which to make things better.
American history doesn’t teach us that we’re doomed. It shows us that we’ve always had Guardians and that Builders arrive just in time.
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