Eyes on the Prize

 We stand at a crossroads in our democracy, and, in fact, in democracies across the world.

There are two roads we can take, and we need somehow to decide which one will guide us into the future.

One road guides us with the truth.  The other road guides us with a lie.

These two paths diverge, and they will not meet again.

So, our decision is profound, momentous, and history-making.

I was discussing this phenomenon with a family member the other day, and what I recounted to him was that, once someone takes the path of lying, it's not easy to return to the truth.  The territory in between the two paths is arduous going, steep and thorny, with gorges, quicksand and poisonous snakes -- all of which is to say, those who attempt to return to the truth don't always make it.

Clearly, it's best never to leave the truthful path at all.  But human beings are imperfect -- and some of us leave that path for transient enticements that seem almost irresistible in the moment.

What are those enticements?  Several-fold.

Freud believed the primary quest for human beings was pleasure.  And certainly, some of us will become distracted by the pursuit of gratification -- whether physical or monetary -- and leave the truthful road behind.

Alfred Adler, on the other hand, believed that the primary human quest was defined by the search for power.  And, without doubt, many people are persuaded to leave a truthful path in search of dominance, influence, and outright control over others.

I would make an addition to this list by saying that, when a society faces a threat of totalitarianism, some people are coerced into leaving a truthful path under pressure from the authorities.  Individuals may be threatened if they don't lie.  Their loved ones may be threatened.  And those threats may carry with them real-world, permanent harms to those who are cherished most.

An entirely different psychological model, expressed by Viktor Frankl, posits that the primary human quest is one for meaning.  The very nature of this quest requires that the truthful path be respected, honored, and followed.  We wish to know the significance of our lives in a larger context, and we wish to do all we can to render our lives meaningful to others beyond ourselves.  We wish to matter in the course of the human endeavor -- and whether our sphere is cloistered or worldwide -- we hope that meaning will be resonant, positive, and lasting.

While autocracy rises when too many people go in search of pleasure, power, or momentary safety from a malevolent authority, democracy rises when people go in search of meaning,

In other words, what people need most in order to follow a truthful path is to know that they matter.  They matter to the life of their families, and they matter to the life of their neighbors, and they matter to the life of their nation.

As the technologies of surveillance and control over others develops at a dizzying pace, we need to push back with an insistence on the sanctity of the human soul, which cannot be captured by a camera or an FBI informant statement.

Because it is the possession of the human soul that renders each individual meaningful in the context of the vast mosaic of society's progress.

Democratic society doesn't need people to be perfect. (In fact, our frailties give us more of an opportunity to be genuine.)

But it does need people to be true.

So, as much as we can, we need to express to one another that it is the soul of the individual that will decide our future.  Because the soul of our nation is inextricably bound to the individual souls of its citizenry.

Whatever our beliefs about religion and faith, we must speak to one another about the importance of our lives' meaning, about the fact that, beyond gratification, money, power, and temporary safety, there is more.

Beyond Christopher Wray's "disposition matrix," there is the sanctity of the human spirit.

And that simple fact may weigh more, in the balance, than all the pettiness, greed and deceit in the world.

Because most of us have a sense that our capacity for growth, for wonder, for courage, for change, and for deep human bonds transcends more superficial and self-serving concerns.

And our democracy now depends on this understanding.

The soul of the individual cannot be controlled by autocratic governance, but rather remains miraculously out of reach of those who would wish to diminish it.

My father and mother believed that the difficult truth should be spoken, not concealed, and they demonstrated great courage in their personal and professional lives in manifesting that belief.

How I miss their bright spirits -- my father's limitless integrity, the way he sailed a boat with a wise and steady hand on the tiller, his love of adventure and foreign lands, and the way he swam the butterfly like a titan gracing our little blue Cape Cod harbor -- and my mother's fierce defense of the vulnerable, her constant desire to learn, her shining faith, and the way she spoke those words of encouragement, "Lane, keep your eyes on the prize."

The prize is the soul of our nation, in my view, and I am keeping my eyes on its sovereign and irreplaceable worth.

I know that we are capable of making the meaningful choice at this crossroads in the life of our democracy -- the choice that asks us to take the truthful path.

I wish to assist us in walking that road, because I believe I can contribute in a manner that will matter for the freedom of others.

I can only express that I hope that honor is mine.

Lane MacWilliams