Perhaps the greatest gift for Americans is our belief we can pretty much do anything we want as long as we don’t harm others or infringe upon the rights of others. It’s our informal national philosophy of “live and let live” that makes us special.
We’ve grown up pledging freedom, liberty and justice for all. We’ve fought wars defending our own freedoms and supported other countries defending theirs. Most of us can’t imagine wanting to live anywhere in the world other than America.
Anyone who truly values the United States as the best of all nations is eager to share our many blessings with others. Or should be, anyway. Unfortunately, too many try way too hard to keep our good fortune to ourselves.
America was founded upon the concept of government by and for the people; in other words, founded upon the right of the people to vote. As the American experiment progressed, the right to vote was gradually expanded from white male land owners, to the more common man, then to black men, to women, to indigenous people, and finally to all citizens, 18 and over. Yet, today, there are barriers to voting imposed by various groups, and they’re working overtime to exclude other groups from participating in elections.
America began with high ideals -- except they allowed black people to be enslaved. Slavery and discrimination have since been outlawed, yet still today, citizens are often judged by the color of their skin. Black and brown Americans are considered “different” and viewed as a threat by far too many white Americans, and they’re doing everything possible to keep non-whites in “their place.” And out of the country.
Prejudice, of course, extends beyond skin color. Centuries of hate for Jews, manifested most horrifically during the Holocaust, continues today, although often times hidden below the surface. The only explanation for this ongoing animosity towards Jewish people is ignorance and bigotry.
The sad fact that we have ignorant and bigoted people in our midst, however, does not mean we are an evil country; it just means there are those who don’t understand the promise of America. In fact, they don’t get America at all. And it’s obvious they don’t want to share it, except with those who look and think the same as they do.
If we love our country, it’s important to confront those who will not honor diversity of race and nationality, diversity of sexual identity, or diversity of values and faith. For a nation founded upon the principle of freedom of religion, some of us sure like to impose our religious beliefs on everyone else. At a time when church attendance is declining and a quarter of Americans do not identify with any particular faith, too many religious institutions and their members are determined to inflict their convictions on others.
States are passing laws and regulations to censure reading materials in libraries and schools, restrict women’s reproductive rights, and discriminate against citizens because of their sexual identity. This demonstrates a view that everyone should adhere to one set of religious values. That’s not what the founding fathers had in mind when they put freedom of religion in the Constitution.
These are examples of how America struggles to live up to the principles upon which the country was founded. These are examples of our nation’s flaws, marked by inequality and an unfair division of wealth and opportunity among our citizens. By the same token, America does a whole lot of things right, and most of our laws follow the tenets of the Constitution – most of the time.
Although we are not perfect, we are still the greatest country ever established. Even when some of our citizens are mistreated; even when we turn our backs on immigrants and neglect the poor and homeless, even when religion becomes fanatical, and, especially, when we limit the constitutional rights of some citizens, there is still more freedom and quality of life here than anywhere else on the planet.
We are generally a good and decent people, the most generous of people, the most tolerant of any group of people on earth, and we fight constantly to mitigate the damage caused by those who are not tolerant or generous or good and decent.
That’s what makes America great.