Can you imagine a written constitution with a bill of rights in 1776? Unheard of then and a rarity even today. That document, the Constitution of the United States of America, created one of the greatest, if not the greatest, society the world has known. Other factors in addition to our constitution made this possible including the minds of our founding fathers and others who followed. This was not a straightforward rise from paper to power. The journey was lengthy with numerous bumps and bruises encountered along the road.
Our noble aspiration periodically became sidetracked but as a nation we journeyed on. Some of our detours took us to uncertain places. Our actions resulting in the Trail of Tears was not one of our finer moments. The “Trail of Tears” was the forced displacement and ethnic cleansing of about 60,000 Native Americans of the “Five Civilized Tribes”, including their black slaves, between 1830 and 1850 by the United States government.
Our policy of “Manifest Destiny” extended our country West with most limited regard for the inhabitants of the land at that time. A substantial setback for our constitution and our nation was the Civil War in 1860. Many viewed the outcome as saving our constitution and our unified country including the Emancipation Proclamation which freed the enslaved African Americans. That noble action was soon followed by Jim Crow, and our path was declining again. There were minor disruptions in our path leading to the early reform movements of the early 20th century. Our nation took a giant step onto the world stage in the 1940’s. World War II led to a new world order of which we were a major player including our actions under the Marshall Plan. Our efforts toward revival of countries devastated during the war was without precedent. Other days our country faltered and moved back on track. The Vietnam War was not our finest moment although our goal of containing Communism was so misunderstood by all. The Civil Rights and Fair Housing Acts emerged during this period. A President had to resign in disgrace and some years later we elected the first African American as our President. This history continues today with periods of greatness and regret, but we always seem able to return to our beliefs which began with our Constitution. Does that continue to be a possible path?
Ronald Reagan said in his inaugural address as Governor, “Freedom is a fragile thing, and it is never more than one generation away from extinction. It is not ours by way of inheritance; it must be fought for and defended constantly by each generation….” His idea of what must be fought for might differ from mine in the current times. Recent times have seen efforts to undermine our values by some. Others see government as a problem to be abolished or certainly reduced substantially. Actions by some of our elected leaders raises cause for concern for our freedom, our Democracy. Our constitution provides the rules and guidelines needed to secure our freedom as a people. The critical factor in this is the people, all the people. Do we still follow and believe in our heritage of electing leaders not bosses. Most any government action is claimed to be in the best interest of the governed, the people, by our elected leaders. We must not be afraid to ask, “is it in our best interest?” We tend to support those whom we voted for irrespective of their actions. Defending our Democracy is not grabbing a rifle and fighting back. Fighting back is more likely standing up against neglect, abuse, injustice and out right indifference to the actions of our leaders. America rose to achieve greatness not by fighting wars but by waging peace. Helping those who needed help, offering hope in times of despair. It is our responsibility to not become the most narrow-minded, petty, self-protective, even racist people. We must elect better people and strive to be better ourselves. Then can we return to the road whereas a nation we all can rise again.
Phil's Personal Perspectives 