A nation divided

How a broad progressive vision could win back our country

by Arianna Huffington

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We need to offer an overarching moral vision for America that is the alternative to the conservative movement’s "Leave us Alone Coalition." My response to the Leave-Us-Alone Coalition is simple: Sorry, no can do. There are no gates or walls high enough. There are no bank accounts large enough to isolate you from the consequences of growing social inequities. We are all in this boat together. And the fact that there isn’t a hole at your end of the boat doesn’t mean you are safe.

The vision of all of us in the same boat together is the founding vision of this country. Even before there was a United States of America, when John Winthrop landed in Massachusetts Bay in 1630, he stood on the deck of the Arbella and gave a speech that gave voice to what would become the central American creed: "We must bear one another’s burdens... we must be willing to abridge ourselves of our superfluities, for the supply of other’s necessities."

This is the heart of what this country is about. And the exact opposite of the Republican messianic vision of national salvation through ever-bigger tax cuts. But let’s not fool ourselves. This call to worship at the church of tax cuts, while very destructive, has also proven incredibly alluring: It’s clear, it’s broad and it’s accessible.

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