As America emerges from the grey clouds of the pandemic, our differences seem sharp and clear. Some credit goes to the Supreme Court, which expanded gun rights in the face of continued mass killings and ended a constitutional right to abortion that existed for almost 50 years. On the economic front, we face record inflation and energy prices. A recession seems imminent and each party wants to blame the other. But who has a solution?

President Biden is too old to govern effectively and his poll numbers reflect this. Former President Trump’s popularity is dwindling in Republican circles. I hope both Trump and Biden will either get out of the way or be forced out. Their moment is past. If neither runs, it opens the door for each party to put forward their best and brightest and have a legitimate debate about the future of America.

This is an important moment. We desperately need this battle, because we’re living in two different countries. One is red, white and rural and the other is blue, brown, and urban, and we are long past due for a legitimate debate about how to reconcile the two.

We can’t both be right. We learned that in 1865. Have we forgotten? Ultimate questions will not go away because we’re busy watching Netflix, and they can’t hide behind cloth masks.

Who are we? Who are we going to be? Do we even care?

Whether we like it or not, we will be tested. Our Constitution will be tested. Is it still in us as Americans to rise to the occasion? Can it still work?

We’re going to find out.

I had the chance to visit Charleston, South Carolina this summer. I went fishing and drug Mrs. Richardson along. On a Sunday morning, we left the shipping channel and rounded Fort Sumter on a high tide to chase redfish behind James Island. The waves lapped against the old brick walls in the grey dawn. These walls survived artillery fire and hurricanes and the waves of a thousand flood tides. They’ll be there when we’re gone.

I also visited a Revolutionary War prison that housed the Patriots of Charleston during the British occupation. I saw a certain flag in the museum, designed by a South Carolinian in 1775:

As Americans, we don’t like being told what to do by a powerful executive. If we did, we’d still be British citizens.

2021

Speaking of waves, we can’t agree on how to deal with them:

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced results from a study Friday that found unvaccinated individuals were 11 times more likely to die from COVID-19 than fully vaccinated people. 

The research, spanning more than 600,000 people in 13 jurisdictions, also determined that unvaccinated populations were over 10 times more likely to be hospitalized — figures that underscore COVID-19 vaccines protect recipients from deaths and hospitalizations. The study also showed that unvaccinated people were 4 1/2 times more likely to contract COVID-19 than the fully vaccinated. 

Despite the data, Republican Governors in the South think making people get a shot is government overreach. Here’s Alabama’s Kay Ivey:

Today, the RNC announced it would sue the Biden Administration over the new mandates.

You shouldn’t be surprised. I’m not. If our history has taught us anything, it’s that freedom comes with a price, and that price is paid in blood.

Unfortunately, in America, the pain is often self-inflicted.