Liberté, égalité, fraternité.

Bastille Day came and went last Sunday, overlooked due to the shooting of Donald Trump the previous evening. But the motto of the French Republic is useful in thinking about our present political moment. We are searching, still, for fraternité.

Fraternity is elusive. The first article of the 1789 <a data-evt-val="{&quot;control_fields&quot;: {&quot;mparticle&quot;: {&quot;keys&quot;: {&quot;click_source_type&quot;: &quot;click_source_type&quot;, &quot;anchor_text&quot;: &quot;anchor_text&quot;, &quot;target_url&quot;: &quot;target_url&quot;, &quot;layout_section&quot;: &quot;layout_section&quot;}, &quot;mp_event_type&quot;: &quot;Navigation&quot;, &quot;extra_keys&quot;: [&quot;click_vertical_position_percentage&quot;, &quot;click_vertical_position_pixels&quot;]}}, &quot;click_source_type&quot;: &quot;in-page link&quot;, &quot;anchor_text&quot;: &quot;Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen&quot;, &quot;target_url&quot;: &quot;https://www.conseil-constitutionnel.fr/en/declaration-of-human-and-civic-rights-of-26-august-1789&quot;, &quot;layout_section&quot;: &quot;in-page-link&quot;}" data-evt="click" data-evt-typ="click" href="https://www.conseil-constitutionnel.fr/en/declaration-of-human-and-civic-rights-of-26-august-1789">Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen</a>&nbsp;begins, “Men are born and remain free and equal in rights. Social distinctions may be based only on considerations of the common good.”

The French Revolution is a painful reminder that brotherly solidarity, though necessary, can be taken too far{ai:summary}Bastille Day slipped by, overshadowed by Trump’s shooting, yet the cry for liberté, égalité, and a long-lost fraternité feels more urgent than ever. The rights of man hang by a thread in a world hungry for common good. Fraternity remains a ghost, elusive as a shadow in the alleys of power. #politics

Raymond J. de Souza: As Republicans kindle a sense of national fraternity, beware the risks

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