The Pendulum: The Triumph of Reason Over Desire

It’s not about you. It never has been and it never will be. It’s about us.

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg (“RBG”) said, “The true symbol of the United States is not the bald eagle, it is the pendulum.” https://youtu.be/UQzClRA2QLM

When you understand what she means by this, you’ll understand why it’s not about you, and why the significance of these words cannot be overstated.

The truth is, we ignore the pendulum at our collective peril. And yet that is precisely what we are doing — we are ignoring the pendulum.

What RBG was referring to as the “pendulum”, is the ebb and flow created by the alternating balance of political leadership in the United States.

She’s not the only one who has spoken of the pendulum. For over 240 years, America has been balancing the needs and desires of a divided country by sharing political leadership — by moving back and forth between liberal and conservative thought and governance.

That’s the pendulum. Power flows back and forth, balancing the divergent interests of a divided country.

This pendulum has been moving back and forth since America’s inception. It’s what has maintained and continues to maintain our social equilibrium.