What Holds America Together?
On the eve of America’s 250th, Rabbi Jonathan Sacks’s covenantal politics offer a language for renewing civic life in a time of grievance and fracture, By Erica Brown,
Covenantal politics … is about “We, the people,” bound by a sense of shared belonging and collective responsibility; about strong local communities, active citizens and the devolution of responsibility. It is about reminding those who have more than they need of their responsibilities to those who have less than they need. It is about ensuring that everyone has a fair chance to make the most of their capacities and their lives.
The distinctive feature of covenants was that they were free of power, whether economic, political, or military. Something higher and more transcendent prevailed, as he writes again in The Dignity of Difference (2003): “The use of power is ruled out by the requirement of human dignity. If you and I are linked because, one way or another, I can force you to do what I want, then I have secured my freedom at the cost of yours. I have asserted my humanity by denying yours. Covenant is the attempt to create partnership without dominance or submission…”
“Don’t lose the American covenant. It’s the most precious thing you have. Renew it now before it’s too late.”