I am a citizen of The United States of America, and I am proud to say that; I am proud of this country-our country, yours and mine. It was, and continues to be, literally an experiment in self-government that had never been tried before; it has been a very successful experiment, and our form of a constitutional representative democracy or some moderate variant thereof, has been successfully duplicated many times since 1776.
The direction of this great and wonderful country, over the long arc of time, has been and continues to be toward, in the words of Jefferson, "a more perfect union." We have never been perfect, nor do you or I know we ever will be; and the events of the past 10 years remind us of the work that remains yet unfinished.
Huge swaths of our country lack access to quality health care, education, and employment. An explosive and violent drug epidemic is killing children and adults without prejudice. We incarcerate at a rate far above the norm for a first-world economy, yet corruption and treason run unfettered through our governmental offices. At its inception, social media was advertised as a way to build community; isolation, hate, fear, bigotry and racism have become its suburbs.
Yet I retain an unashamed optimism about our future, short and long term. Ours is not a static social construct, rather it expands and contracts as necessity requires. We have the ability, given to us by the foresight of the founders of this great nation, to change the direction and tenor of our country, of our political landscape. It is within our ability to control our government, to control our social discourse, to tone down the racism, bigotry and hate. All that is required to improve what is right, and correct what is wrong, is for you and I to say "no more." We can amplify our voices by voting for the candidate, not the party, by helping with voter registration, by standing up for democracy. Each of us can and should demonstrate with action and word, that bigotry, racism, and hatred are not acceptable virtues of a civilized society.
Do not misunderstand me, I am not advocating physical violence, riots, or insurrection! I am advocating citizenship, an active participation in the affairs of our society. The most important action you can take is to VOTE. if you want to make more of an obvious impact, speak out, speak up; let your congressman know how you feel, put letters in the local paper, etc. Don't waste time arguing with the uninformed.
Why do I remain optimistic about America? Because I truly believe in America, and in Americans. I believe the vast majority of us are good, kind, and generous. I believe we all want a good, prosperous future, and I believe we want all Americans to have the same opportunity as we ourselves have.
I invite you to share in my optimism, and also to leave comments and opinions about this article.
Thanks for reading!
R.M. "Bob" Hartman