SPEAK UP: Name an uncomfortable truth

Saving democracy starts with speaking honestly

One of the complicated things I’ve been thinking about since the election is that, in an era of such high stakes, it has sometimes felt hard to speak the truth. A candidate may have flaws, but do you really want to undermine that candidate against a fascist monster? An issue may deserving facing, but facing it fully might splinter a coalition that needs to hold together for the greater good. A contradiction may sit at the heart of a political movement, but maybe, just maybe, we can face that contradiction later.

I don’t think this is necessarily a bad thing always. It’s called being strategic. But it can also be catastrophic. Maybe one of the advantages of the political earthquake that was last Tuesday is that now there is no reason not to clearly, plainly tell the truth.

These are, as I called them right after the election, rebuilding years. And part of what I hope happens is that we rebuild from the foundation of radical, fearless honesty.

I think there are hard truths to face about whether the Democratic Party ultimately is a party for donors and consultants or for regular people. There are hard truths to face about what it means to be a movement for justice and humanity that ignores and abets a grave moral crisis in Gaza. There are hard truths to face about a movement that wants people to live and behave in new ways but doesn’t evince much interest in showing people how to get there. There are hard truths to face about whether there is space among the woke for the still-waking.

I could go on, but I want to hear from you. Tell me an uncomfortable truth you believe the pro-democracy movement needs to face in this time. Something that maybe you held back on saying when it was less convenient. But something that must be said if the pro-democracy struggle is to be won.

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Image: “Truth, Time and History,” by Francisco de Goya