My first-ever K. Harris compliment: A decent concession

Let’s not parse every word to identify phrases from Harris that critics believe are disingenuous. Sometimes the cause of statesmanship requires a sort of civically lofty language that hides policy disagreements and personal grievances. Harris strove for, and almost entirely achieved, a constructive tone, an uplifting message, and an appeal to the best parts of American tradition.

Harris’ record and ideology make her, for some of us, political anathema. In the immediate aftermath of an extremely divisive election, that status shouldn’t matter. What matters is whether Harris used the occasion to reinforce the ideals of freedom, civil rights, and the constitutional system writ large. And, of course, to revalidate, after four years of discreditable violations from her Republican opponent, the necessity of respecting the results of an election and encouraging the peaceful transfer of power.

“America,” she said, “we will never give up the fight for our democracy, for the rule of law, for equal justice, and for the sacred idea that every one of us, no matter who we are or where we start out, has certain fundamental rights and freedoms that must be respected and upheld. And we will continue to wage this fight in the voting booth, in the courts, and in the public square.”

Moreover, “We will also wage it in quieter ways, in how we live our lives, by treating one another with kindness and respect, by looking in the face of a stranger and seeing a neighbor, by always using our strength to lift people up, to fight for the dignity that all people deserve.”

And, while it sounds like boilerplate, what Harris said specifically to young people is something that needs saying because young people need to hear it: ….. [To see what she said to young people, and the importance of how she wrapped up the speech, follow this link.]