We need Truth and Reconciliation

... as a movement within our political parties. Democrats should take the lead.

After the mid-terms, thinking small-d democrats must begin to think-tank the elements of a national truth and reconciliation effort in the United States. I believe it is essential to begin it in the Democratic Party as a model for a wide-sweeping effort to deal with the cultural, political and socioeconomic ravages of the MAGA/Trump Era.

We cannot move on from this era and pretend to be a rationally modern republic without speaking publicly and purposefully about ways to end mass authoritarian movements, prevent government takeover by massively monied interests, and to complete the parts of the work of intergenerational social trusts begun seriously nearly 100 years ago. Our claim to being the greatest free nation on the planet must be substantiated not by the ability to impose limited to coercive acts, but by the orchestration of a critical baseline of prosperity and mutual respect for all of humanity - and the protection of the ecosphere that sustains us.

Truth and reconciliation movements are efforts to address the legacy of war, dictatorship, colonialism, apartheid, or other large-scale human rights abuses. Rather than focusing only on criminal trials, they aim to establish a public record of past events, acknowledge victims’ experiences, encourage accountability, and promote healing and institutional reform. The piece mealing and siloing of human rights efforts must evolve into more universal venture. Our need for a truth and reconciliation project is based on failures to resolve issues more than 250 year old - the inequitable treatment of women, racism and immorality in the nation’s markets and economy.

Other nations have found the collective courage to launch truth and reconciliation projects.

Argentina after the end of military rule of 1976–1983, established the National Commission on the Disappearance of Persons to investigate the disappearance of thousands of people during the “Dirty War.” Its report, Nunca Más (”Never Again”), documented widespread abuses and became a model for later truth commissions.

Chile, following the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet, created the National Commission for Truth and Reconciliation. It investigated politically motivated killings and disappearances, leading to official recognition of victims and reparations.

South Africa established a Truth and Reconciliation Commission after the end of apartheid. Chaired by Desmond Tutu under the leadership of Nelson Mandela, it held public hearings where victims testified and perpetrators could receive conditional amnesty if they fully disclosed politically motivated crimes.

After the 1994 genocide, Rwanda combined international justice with community-based reconciliation through the Gacaca courts. These local courts processed hundreds of thousands of cases, emphasizing truth-telling and community participation.

Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada examined the history and impacts of the residential school system for Indigenous children. Its final report documented widespread abuse and issued 94 Calls to Action aimed at governments, institutions, and society to advance reconciliation. The Canadian Truth and Reconciliation Commission investigated violence during the conflict between government forces and insurgent groups from 1980 to 2000. It found that Indigenous communities suffered disproportionately and recommended reforms and reparations.

In Sierra Leone, following a devastating civil war, a Truth and Reconciliation Commission worked alongside the Special Court.

Here in the United States of America, we have witnessed atrocities against immigrants and those sharing communities with them, we have experienced attacks on and the militarization of civil servants we’ve traditionally entrusted to keep our communities healthy and safe. We have refused to squarely address racism, sexism and xenophobia. Much of this is done by talking, deliberating and in many ways rebooting the democratic process that we have allowed to devolve into power dynamics fueled by concentrated manipulative financing schemes.

The recent wave of progressive activist wins within the caucuses of the Democratic Party nationally and locally should be a sign that a critical mass of Americans are ready to address issues we may have never had courage, as a nation, to tackle with some form of coalescence. We can do this without being monolithic, in lock step, and bullied by an authoritarian force. The importance of problem-solving and the focus on human dignity require a courageous openness. Truth and reconciliation projects vary based on the topic, but all seek a common aim to heal scarred, broken and terrified humanity.

These projects have sought to:

• Document and acknowledge past abuses

• Give victims a public voice

• Promote accountability, sometimes alongside criminal prosecutions

• Recommend institutional reforms

• Encourage long-term reconciliation to prevent future violence

This proposal is not blind to the ongoing challenges and significant obstacles that all truth and reconciliation projects have faced:

• Balancing justice with forgiveness

• Securing political support for reforms

• Ensuring reparations are implemented

• Including marginalized communities

• Measuring whether reconciliation has truly occurred

Since the 1980s, at least 40 countries have established some form of truth commission. They have mostly been different, fitting to the specific tools needed in that culture toward transitional justice. The critical issue is the project must be a transition to a better, healthier and more humane political and socioeconomic culture. Our country has to confront a difficult history not unlike many who have chosen the path. It is time we begin seeking a more inclusive and democratic future. And it must begin somewhere, as a model, because this is how we do it in the USA. We create a working model. We build a proof of concept and we expand it.

While fostering national dialogue, truth and reconciliation projects have been criticized for limited prosecutions and incomplete economic justice, there have been concerns were raised about fairness and due process. Combining justice and freedom to grow, change and evolve is a difficult task because our thoughts are private. This is why openly illustrating how truth-seeking and criminal accountability can operate together is important. It is also why compassion in administering justice is important.

I am proposing that the Democratic Party take up this project. This means assembling a national project manager, with templates for local teams. The basic elements of any project include clear objectives for the mission of the project and the resulting institutional changes, a superbly communicated scope, an aggressive and tech-savvy timeline, a budget, and the best thinking people ready to effect real change in local party communities. We need deadlines and milestones to be ready for a massive 2028 national discussion coincidental with the presidential campaign. The finances must be focused on enabling a wide diversity people with equipment, materials, and technology to complete the project. This would be a fourth way in American politics.

This project will require converting the much available planning, risk management, and stakeholder involvement used in political campaigning, but toward the purpose of truth and reconciliation rather than establishing political dominance. The focus should turn to a another tradition of power - the power of healing. And that focus must be unwavering, as will be the inclusivity of stakeholder involvement so that everyone affected by the project is informed and aligned with its goals.

We have much to learn by studying the successes and failure of many of the forty-some efforts. We should look to the common human conditions that define the need for such a project and indulge ourselves in grasping them. We have had limited focus individual-oriented movements here in the USA that such a project could learn from: Braver Angels, Keepers of the Fire, Healing Racism, Coming to the Table (CTTT), Journey Toward Wholeness, BridgeUSA, Listen First Project, Black Women’s Blueprint, are a few examples. The 1619 Project is an attempt to organize resources for American evolving out of racism. Many such resources abound. What is needed is courage, discipline and organization. But we cannot wait, kick the can down the road to the next generations. We have been doing that for more than 250 years. We must act now - openly - boldly and with open arms. At present, the only political party with any semblance of the ability to do this is the Democratic Party. I think that it is a winning strategy for the party and for all Americans.