The United States of America. That is the name of this country. Some call it "America". Some call it the USA. But, whatever the name, it is a country founded on the principles that the people know what is best for themselves and that fairness through the rigorous rational processes of the rule of law are the best ways to ensure that every individual receives the promise of "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" as mentioned as the entire purpose of the government's existence.
"Liberty" which is otherwise known as "Freedom" is the rallying cry of the revolutionary period of the Classical era. It represents the rising up of the common man, as opposed to the aristocracy, to take power over the government of the people. The rallying cry "We the people", or as it is in German, "Wir sind das Volk", is stating that this newly found power of the government is granted by the people it governs.
The historic Constitution of the United States of America is a document outlining two things, the rights of the people in relation to the government, and the duties of the government towards the people. In other words, it is a document about the relationship between the government and the people. The entire point of the document is to provide the basic needs of a society in order to ensure the "life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness" for its people.
It means that people can live freely and not worry so much about being persecuted unjustly by anyone because of the laws protecting the people against the government and between people. Everyone is supposed to be able to be who they are without fear of persecution and follow the life they choose as long as that way of life doesn't impede the freedoms of others.
In other words, you can do pretty much anything you want, as long as you don't bother anyone else.
However, there is one thing demanded by the constitution of the citizens of the United States that isn't considered so important today. One of those things is the "Pledge of Allegiance."
"I pledge allegiance, to the flag, of the United States of America,
and to the republic for which it stands,
one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."
Every citizen of the United States is bound by this pledge to a republic, a form of government, and to the laws of the land, symbolized by the flag.
I am not sure they teach this anymore in school. It is something that I cannot forget because we recited it every morning in school when I was growing up. It is a good pledge and the constitution is a great constitution.
One of the many problems with the history of the United States of America is the blind eye towards the injustices visited upon certain populations of people that were not considered Americans, yet they were born and lived here, either because their race had been here for thousands of years, or they were brought here against their will. Anyone could be a citizen, but those two groups of people. Of course, these two groups of people were the Native Americans and the Africans brought to serve under slavery.
For Native Americans and African Americans, America wasn't a dream it was a nightmare.
Sadly, even today, this holds true.
From the time the "White Man", or Europeans, set foot upon the continent of North America up till today, these two groups have not enjoyed the complete freedom guaranteed by the constitution. These two groups were not even considered to be humans, but rather savages or partially human. They were judged by the color of their skin, their lack of Christian religious heritage, the fact that they couldn't speak English, and that they had no formal education and thus were considered mentally inferior.
Their lands were either stolen from them or they were stolen from their land. If ever there was an injustice done to anyone in history, surely these two groups suffered as much as anyone throughout history. The biggest shame is, they are still suffering under it.
The United States of America committed "crimes against humanity" in the way that it treated these two groups of people. This must be acknowledged, it must be accepted as wrong, and a huge penalty must be paid to them in an attempt to right those truly evil and egregious wrongs if we as Americans are ever to be able to look the world in the eye and say "I am proud to be an American."
These two segments of our society do not enjoy the same "admiration" as the immigrants who came to America seeking a new life, freedom, and justice. They are perceived differently from the other cultures of people who have migrated to this country on their own. Today, even those who come to the country to seek freedom, are beginning to be treated poorly because of who they are and where they come from.
Today and moving forward, Americans have a choice to make. Is America truly a place of freedom for all people, or just "White People"? Is this nation going to really be a melting pot, which was once a source of pride for us, or are we to be a nation led by "White Supremacy"? How much do we believe that ...
"All men are created equal"?
I believe that there must be some house cleaning done as to what is treason in today's America. I believe that all racially inspired aggression either physically exerted or through intimidation be a federal offense and punishable by imprisonment. I believe that when you show allegiance to any other flag other than the Stars and Stripes, yes I am talking about the flag of the Confederate States of America, you are essentially a traitor to the constitution. If you are a citizen of the United States of America, either out of choice or just because you were born here, you must decide whether you agree to put aside all other allegiances and flags, and truly pledge your allegiance to the principles of freedom that include all people.
At the end of the day, America must decide if it is a "White Supremacist" nation or if it isn't. There cannot be two philosophies on this.
Regardless of what anyone says, and in direct opposition to my own former beliefs, I believe the deep-seated political divide in this country is predominantly due to long-held attitudes about race. There are other ideological issues that tend to be associated with the two basic political philosophies, but underneath those is race.
I didn't believe this before, but I do now. It makes me very sad to admit this about the country and the people I believed in for most of my life.
As an American, I truly regret the shameful chapters in history, and the current chapter as well, that have been covered up for so long.
This does not mean that I don't believe that America hasn't done a lot of good in the world, it has. But we cannot fully enjoy wearing the cloak of the defender of liberty until we address the unjust practices that have scared the face of America for hundreds of years.
All of this is fine and good, but until every American adopts this new morality, there is work to do. Nobody can control your thoughts, but society can decide what actions it allows and what it doesn't. Intimidation and flying a national political flag other than the flag of the United States of America should be banned in this country. They aren't expressions of freedom, they are expressions against freedom. I know it won't stop it, but at least we make a clear statement about it.
I am unsure of the direction this country is going to take. I am worried about the future of the United States because I see it headed in a direction destined for calamity if this is allowed to continue. There are so many things about this country that are beautiful, these issues are definitely not among them. I am saddened that it has come to this.
God Bless America, it sure needs it.
Ultimately, this leads me to another issue which is outside the realm of this article, which is, should it be so difficult for people to migrate throughout the world? Why do the people of the world tolerate intolerance? What are the rights of man?