Source: Christian Science Monitor
by Mark Sappenfield
“Some 236 years ago, it would seem that James Madison foresaw this moment. Election Day in the United States has arrived, and the great question that lies ahead is one he spent no small amount of time attempting to answer. How does a nation with democratic principles prevent the winners from walking all over the losers? Madison’s answer was a masterstroke of realpolitik. In political factions, he saw the human tendency to be whipped into groups of passion and ill will toward others. And in the clash of faction on faction, he saw checks and counterbalances. Many American voters say they’re anxious about who wins. What happens to the losing side? James Madison thought deeply about that question, and we the nation has learned more since. Yet as Americans go to the voting booth today, I wonder: Is there really no moral element?” (11/05/24)