OPINION: Together, we are America
The American people are starving for politics defined by joy, connection, inclusion, and hope.
For far too long, our politics have been driven by a strongman fantasy — the idea that fear, grievance, and domination could somehow hold a diverse country together.
It worked for a while. When societies are anxious, they reach for loud certainty instead of messy compromise. But history also shows something else: people cannot live in a state of fear forever. Eventually, fear runs out of fuel.
We are reaching that moment now.
Over the weekend, a hopeful message rang out clearly on the largest stage in the United States: the only thing more powerful than hate is love.
Official data indicates that more than 135–142 million viewers tuned into an almost entirely Spanish-speaking Super Bowl halftime show, potentially setting an all-time record. By contrast, even the highest estimates for Trump’s alternative broadcast top out at about five million viewers. By all accounts, the President himself didn’t even tune in.
In the competition for America’s attention, diversity won.
This is the America we believe in — one rooted in connection, family, and strength through diversity.
The American dream is loud and layered and alive. It is messy and beautiful, multilingual and multicolored, forged by courage. It has always been built by hands that speak every language, pray in every tongue, and come from every corner of this hemisphere.
It’s important to recognize what resonated — and what didn’t. Republicans are losing the culture wars because their battle cry is militarism, allegiance to a strongman, and the creation of cultural silos.
But on Sunday, Americans didn’t see militarism or silos. We saw joy. We danced. We sang. We watched a real-life wedding. We saw a child holding a Grammy, beaming with hope, quietly reminding us what is possible for the next generation of immigrants in America. That is what people are hungry for — not fear, but hope for the future.
The power of love to overcome hate isn’t some abstract, feel-good slogan. We see it changing our communities through small acts of generosity and kindness. And this power is about to become a tsunami of practical political reality.
Americans don’t want to live in a perpetual war zone — especially one manufactured for political gain. Whether in Venezuela, Greenland, or Minnesota, the use of fear and intimidation as political tools must stop. The American people are exhausted by it.
And as we reach for something better, joy and integrity are becoming contagious again. We are seeing it take root not only at a Super Bowl halftime show, but in national and local politics as well.
In Texas, just nine months before the 2026 elections, a political earthquake quietly shook the Republican Party. Taylor Rehmet, a union president and Air Force veteran, defeated a Trump-backed candidate in a state Senate district Trump had won by 17 points in 2024. That district was nearly as deep red as Idaho. Yet voters chose a different kind of leadership — one rooted in service, community, and dignity.
Closer to home, we see that same integrity in the growing backlash against figures like Matt Gaetz, even from entrenched conservatives.
And Democrats are seeing it in the remarkable response to our upcoming Democracy Dinner. This banner event, rooted in respect for the Constitution, is selling tickets faster than ever — because Kootenai County is hungry for politics defined by joy, connection, inclusion, and hope. Ticket sales close February 17, and you won’t want to miss this moment in North Idaho political history.
This is the quiet revolution underway in American politics: cruelty and chaos are no longer sustainable strategies. In a world that too often feels defined by conflict, empathy and kindness have become radical again.
Something is blossoming. Joy is contagious. Love is stronger than hate, and it will win — whether in small daily acts of kindness or in large, historic victories.
The far right has made its choice. But we are choosing each other.
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Sarah Martin is chairman of the Kootenai County Democrats.