At its 232 birthday, is America finally true to its ideals?
by Kathy Mitchell
Kathy@dekalbchamp.com
America was founded on what were at the time some radical ideas, including the idea that “all men are created equal,” that all are entitled to participate in government as voters, jurors and seekers of public office.
For thousands of years, nations across the globe had operated on the assumption that some groups of people were simply born better than others and thus were entitled to govern those to whom they were superior. In nearly every nation, there were peasants and aristocrats, nobility and common folks, patricians and plebeians. One was born into a class and expected to marry into that class and live within the rules of the class system.
The notion that none of us is inherently superior to others and that we all have a right to participate in government is a relatively new one. Yet, it is the idea that defines America–that supposedly sets us apart from other nations.
The reality, of course, is that America’s ideals of freedom and equality for all have throughout the nation’s history been honored more in the breach than in the observance. Slavery, segregation, lynching, ethnic and religious discrimination, denial of voting rights, inequality in legal protection and other personal injustices were once as much a part of the American landscape as purple mountains and amber waves of grain.
Through it all, however, Americans have not given up on their ideals. Our greatest writers and philosophers keep reminding us of them. Martin Luther King Jr. often wove phases from America’s sacred documents and beloved patriotic songs through his speeches, reminding the nation that it has a creed that it has not been true to. Little by little we have confronted our collective hypocrisy and worked to overcome it. We have taken monumental strides from where we were at the end of World War II.
One measure of progress toward full inclusion is the leaders we choose. Only a couple of generations ago, it was difficult to imagine anyone who wasn’t male and White as the governor of a state, a member of a state legislature, a member of Congress, a senator—certainly as U.S. president. Today’s American legislative bodies are kaleidoscopes of diversity. Still, we have yet to elect a woman or a minority group member as president.
It’s a bit ironic that other countries far less willing to publicly extol the notion of equality for all have already had non-traditional heads of state, while America never has. Great Britain, India and Israel, as ready examples, have all had female heads of state.
This year, as we celebrate America’s 232nd birthday, we may also celebrate a presidential election different from any the nation has ever had. Both a woman and an African American entered the race with every hope of going all the way; indeed, a major party has made an African American its apparent nominee.
No matter which candidate you support in this year’s presidential election, as an American you can be proud of the fact that our country has taken a giant step closer to living out its ideals. |
