Activism

The Atlantic magazine interviewed Ryan Williams from the Clairemont Institute whose goal is restoring the principles of the American Founding to their rightful, preeminent authority in our national life. The article, entitled “The Conservatives Dreading—And Preparing for—Civil War” is available online.

I have been going over the article in my mind. At the time they were written, the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were progressive ideas in the realm of Western civilization. Arriving on the scene after a thousand or more years of absolute and often authoritarian rule by Kingdoms and Emperors, it was a reinvention of how human beings can address  their basic, social, and cultural needs and desires.

The founding of America is based on the idea of a revolution to create a political system based on ideas of English liberalism that arises during the Enlightenment in the works of John Locke who argued that government acquires consent from the governed.  Many of the United States of America’s founding fathers (only men back in the day) such as Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and Alexander Hamilton were progressive in their thoughts.. Now none of these original documents were perfect nor were the people who wrote them, but they were based on new ideas not on some fixed cultural order from a random time in the past.  These documents were shaped by old and new ideas in tension with each other that created a new form of government that when not co-opted by the rich and powerful is workable for our future needs.

To me it appears as if conservatives want to return to some golden age of past interpretations and ways of living.  As I watch what is happening with Islamic fundamentalists, it seems to be the same desires, to return to Islam’s golden ages and live as people once lived. The teachings of both Muhammad and Jesus, as made available to us in the twenty-first century, clearly show them as progressive thinkers in their respective eras.  They took up social justice causes,  the rights of women, challenges to hierarchical organization of society, and so much more.

In my mind, the Taliban, with their desire to return Afghanistan to the 7th and 8th Centuries is akin to the desire of conservative think tanks’ desire to return America’s political system to the 18th Century or to some earlier point in America’s history.

While I don’t want to through the baby out with the bathwater, our definition of who is entitled to rights under the constitution keeps evolving. If the founding fathers were alive today, they would write a different document as they were individuals who believed in the possibilities of the future and their ideas were shaped by the new and controversial ideas of their day.  Let us use our imagination and wisdom to incorporate new ideas shared by new voices to continue to evolve the ideas laid out so long ago. We honor those who founded this country by continuing to evolve not by staying static.

For the last 40 years, I’ve believed that the life I’ve been able to lead was only possible because of the work done by those who went before me. I understand my responsibility in life is to enhance that legacy and build another link in the chain that binds us all. Only history will know if I succeeded and only those that are younger than me can judge my successes and failures.

Image by Егор Камелев from Pixabay

When I was young and engaged with people older than myself, many of them had gotten bitter, negative, hopeless over all the hard work they had contributed over decades only to see that their efforts had fallen short. They saw that the changes for which they had sacrificed so much, were still miles down the road.   Then, when I was young and optimistic, I would point out how much change had occurred. I would talk about the ripples in the water they had started and that were now reaching distance shores.

Now that I’m older and decades of struggles have written scars on my heart, my back, my mind, and my heart carries all the failures, the aborted changes, the missed opportunities, I try to bite my tongue, hold my words, keep myself from dampening their enthusiasm so that they can push all their energy into the possibilities. Yet while I remain silent, I feel judged as if these new amazing, beautiful and thoughtful youth are the first ones to take up these causes and I did nothing. Perhaps that is the way of the world.

I am jealous of young people because they are starting to create their link and I am finishing mine.

Today is a great day! Thank you to all the women who came before and tried to break this barrier. Today is a day of celebration for women everywhere. #VPKamalaHarris

Full