With civil war looming, Abraham Lincoln invoked the “better angels of our nature” in his first inaugural address.

Lincoln, a Republican, wouldn’t recognize his party today. The GOP has moved so far to the right that it’s off the map, in some dark, dystopian country where angels fear to tread. A country that could become synonymous with the United States if we don’t stand up in overwhelming numbers and say, “NO. We refuse to live in such a country.”

Whatever our party affiliation or political persuasion, when we lose touch with our better angels, we’re wide open to their opposite – call them the “demons of division.” They encourage us to buy into lies that make us all weaker, more fearful, and less free.

They propagate lies like the assertion that half the population is “better off” when reproductive rights are stripped away. They threaten to convince us that the President is above the law. They would have us believe that an entire segment of the population is slaughtering our pets and should be deported (or worse).

It’s clear to me that many political figures like Donald Trump, Mark Robinson, and Nick Langworthy who spew or echo these lies have become completely divorced from the better angels of their nature. Their words and actions (or inactions) give no indication that there’s a benevolent presence on their shoulders.

Meanwhile, a growing number of patriotic Republicans are bravely embracing their better angels and inspiring us to turn away from the likes of Trump, away from the demons of division.

To be clear, I’m not talking about literal angels, at least not the heavenly seraphim described in the Bible. Lincoln’s “better angels” were metaphorical. He wasn’t calling for divine intervention to avert a horrific civil war; he was invoking the better angels of humanity. That is, human kindness, tolerance, compassion, and, yes, joy. We need that now more than ever.

There’s wisdom in the lyrics of the Midwestern band Kansas, whose 1979 song “Angels Have Fallen” concludes with these lines: “The angels have fallen / They’ve all gone away / It’s you that must find them / By living each day.” I believe we all should seek (or rehabilitate) the better angels of our nature each day–today, tomorrow, and on election day.

Eric Jackson-Forsberg is a Jamestown resident.