America250: Ideals and Realities, Part 1 of 2

 

    As we celebrate the semiquincentennial of the United States, we're celebrating the lofty, some might even say ethereal ideals, which led to America's founding.  American ideals are the core principles that guide the nation, including liberty, equality, and self-government. These values come from founding documents like the Declaration of Independence and shape the country's civic life. These core principles and values include

• Liberty: Freedom to act, speak, and think without unfair limits from the government.
• Equality: The belief that all people have the same natural rights and value under the law.
• Self-Government: The right of citizens to choose their leaders and make their own laws through democracy. 

• Individualism: High value placed on personal independence, self-reliance, and individual achievement.
• Opportunity: The promise that hard work can lead to success and a better life, often called the American Dream.
• Unity and Diversity: The goal to keep one united nation while respecting people from many different backgrounds. 
• Civic Responsibility:  The active participation, duties, and obligations of citizens in public life to support the common good and maintain a healthy community

    I don't have to tell anyone reading this we Americans have often failed to meet these lofty goals - more often, it seems, than we have.  They are not easy goals to meet.  President Kennedy said of the moon mission that we, as Americans, choose to do the hard things.  President George W. Bush stated in his First Inaugural Address, "We are bound by ideals that teach us what it means to be citizens... I ask you to be citizens. Citizens, not spectators... Responsible citizens building communities of service and a nation of character."   It is important that we continue to do the work, which can be summed up as

Civic Duty and Action

• Active participation: Realizing national values requires personal responsibility rather than passive observation.
• Building character: Communities grow strong when individuals commit to service and shared principles. 

The Ongoing Journey

• Imperfect progress: Achieving the nation's promise is an ongoing effort carried out by everyday people.
• Shared responsibility: Every person plays a role in keeping the foundational principles alive and strong for future generations. 

     There are some elements at work today to whitewash our failures, the negative aspects of our American journey:  the bigotry, the massacres, the hatred, and the inhumanity.  We cannot allow that to happen.  Just as we individually should strive to learn, grow, and evolve from our mistakes and our failures, America must strive to learn, grow, and evolve - perhaps get closer to attaining the lofty goals established by our founders - as a nation if we are to have any hopes of seeing another century.  

    These are some of the books about the ugly truths of American history, the failures that have to be studied and remembered for us to grow.