NEW Posting - Pages of quotations
We must dissent from the indifference. We must dissent from the apathy. We must dissent from fear, the hatred, and the mistrust….We must dissent because America can do better, because America has no choice but to do better. Thurgood Marshall
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June 29, 2010
Liberty and justice in 2010 and beyond
by Phyllis Stenerson
On July 4 America commemorates the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 1776 that proclaimed independence of the thirteen united states from British rule and created a new nation.
The Declaration of Independence is among the most closely scrutinized documents in history. The founders had widely varying opinions, some of which are a part of written history, others lost to time. Facts and opinions fill countless volumes. New interpretations are emerging continually, sometimes as critical academic study, often to serve varying political agendas. Origins of some of today’s major points of controversy about what kind of a country America is and should be can be traced back to the founding.
During the first decade of the 21st Century, America became the most deeply divided it has been since the Civil War while facing a plethora of critical problems. There is now deep concern that the very fabric of the nation is being torn apart.
If ever there was a time for all good people to ask what they can do for their country, this is it. One of the underlying problems is a woeful lack of civic literacy leaving far too many citizens lacking confidence to participate actively and vulnerable to misrepresentations. Strongly increased civic education and engagement are desperately needed now. An idea – people who are knowledgeable and experienced in politics and government can teach classes in the community that are fact based, not ideological. The purpose would be to strengthen American democracy, not promote partisan politics.
The Declaration of Independence, as it was finalized and signed on July 4, 1776, stands unchanged as America’s moral foundation. To provide context for dialogue, I offer a very brief history, with humility and full awareness of differing perspectives. We start with the opening words, among the most powerful in history:
The Declaration of Independence
IN CONGRESS, July 4, 1776.
The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America,
When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed…
Thomas Jefferson was the primary author and drew upon a range of sources with major influence coming from the European enlightenment philosophers who advocated the primacy of reason over revelation. He also drew from the moral teachings of Jesus he extracted from the New Testament of the Bible. Jefferson’s choice of the words --“Creator,” “Nature’s God” and “Divine” -- reflected his universalism and were not specific to any one religion, although Christianity was the dominant religion of the time and religion is not mentioned in the document.
Democracy, both the idea and the word, originated with the Greeks in the 5th Century BC. Dêmos means people and krátos means power, with equality and freedom being basic principles.
The Declaration of Independence launched America’s experiment in democracy with the power of ideas as expressed in this foundational document. The Constitution, the other foundational document, was adopted on September 17, 1787 forming the legal basis for the new nation and representative democracy as the form of government. The first ten amendments were adopted immediately and collectively form the Bill of Rights with 17 additional amendments adopted over the years to reflect the changing times.
“I never had a feeling politically that did not spring from the sentiments embodied in the Declaration of Independence" said Abraham Lincoln in Independence Hall, Philadelphia on February 22, 1861
Democracy in America evolved over time with many twists and turns in its trajectory. The industrial age was strong when the 20th Century began. There was vast income disparity as the “robber barons” prospered and others lagged far behind. By the end of the 1920’s the economy was in turmoil resulting in the Great Depression. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, a Democrat, created the New Deal with the passage of laws to correct problems that led to the Depression, relieve suffering of the poor and strengthen the economy. Widespread prosperity with a thriving middle class followed World War II.
In the 1950’s there was a general consensus on the balance of liberalism (also known as the left wing) and conservatism (also known as the right wing). The Presidency of Dwight D. Eisenhower, a moderate Republican, and a mostly collegial Congress set the tone for the post-war decade.
The 1960’s brought turmoil and changes that reverberate today. Barry Goldwater, a Republican, campaigned for President as a radical conservative intent on severely limiting the role of government and was solidly defeated by liberal Lyndon B. Johnson, a Democrat. Defining events of that decade include the Vietnam War, civil rights movement, hippie counter-culture, women’s movement and assassinations of John Kennedy, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Bobby Kennedy.
Upheaval of core assumptions about the essence of American culture and democracy ignited a backlash from the right wing. Well-financed organizations and institutions were founded to promote conservatism and discredit liberalism. A tactic in the conservative strategy emerged to make religion a driving factor in politics for the first time in American history. The Supreme Court decision of 1973 legalizing abortion was used as a catalyst to bring evangelical and fundamentalist Christians from the margins of American politics into the mainstream on the side of the ultra-conservatives. This newly activated segment of the electorate was commonly called by the name of one of its major organizations, the Moral Majority.
Ronald Reagan was elected the 40th President of the United States in 1980 largely as a result of this strategy. In his inaugural speech in 1981, Reagan famously declared: “Government is not the solution to our problem. Government is the problem.” This sound bite has been repeated incessantly, most recently at Tea parties restated as “less government.” It can arguably be described as a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Disagreements over the roles of the federal government and influence of religion continue to be major issues dividing the country today. A basic question has always been the balance of liberty and justice with an assumption that government inhibits personal liberty and enhances universal justice. Conservatives call for less government at the same time they demand strong action on things like the environmental disaster in the Gulf Coast. A revisionist history is being promoted by the far right wing that says America is a Christian nation based on the Bible and is a republic requiring a minimal federal government, instead of a democracy with a strong central government.
We’re in a turbulent time that needs less violence-tinged rhetoric and much more education, critical thinking and truthful discussion. A basic question for this Independence Day is how each of us can exercise our responsibilities as citizens to elevate the level of discourse and strengthen, perhaps even save, democracy in America.
This essay is adapted from an editorial I wrote published in July 2010 issue of the Uptown Neighborhood News, Minneapolis, MN
