Category: Change

We hold these truths to be self-evident…

History has proven them to be anything but.

If we genuinely care about this ‘grand experiment’ in democracy, we must actively participate in it.

We must take action and we must vote to ensure everyone feels they are represented by those who put life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness above everything else.

This past Tuesday was our primary election day in Illinois, and the picture I chose for this blog was purposeful.  Sadly, the turnout for this important event was abysmally low.

Since declaring our independence, we’ve always been trying to ‘form a more perfect Union’, despite a rocky start and diversions along the way.

While many of us revere the writings of the Founders, they were not perfect men, nor did they live in perfect times, nor did they have the experiences and access to knowledge that many of us take for granted today.

What they did have was a vision for a more perfect Union.  The framework for our Constitution goes back to our Independence Day. I urge each and every one of you to read the words of that Declaration again today.  It wouldn’t hurt to read our Constitution again, either.

Here are links to both: Declaration of Independence: A Transcription | National Archives & The Constitution of the United States: A Transcription | National Archives

For years, I’ve celebrated our Independence Day with all the pomp and circumstance the Framers intended.  As I got older, I learned more about Americans who did not feel that they’ve achieved the ideals set forth on July 4, 1776. These groups continued to be marginalized for decades and centuries after, even to this present day.

Today, a new group of our citizens is feeling that same disenfranchisement.

Those ‘truths’ Jefferson found to be self-evident, were anything but.

For those who thrust this concept of “originalism” as a justification for abridging rights, this is not what America stands for.  It never has.

“I am not an advocate for frequent changes in laws and Constitutions. But laws and institutions must go hand in hand with the progress of the human mind. As that becomes more developed, more enlightened, as new discoveries are made, new truths discovered and manners and opinions change, with the change of circumstances, institutions must advance also to keep pace with the times. We might as well require a man to wear still the coat which fitted him when a boy as civilized society to remain ever under the regimen of their barbarous ancestors.”

Thomas Jefferson

Our focus has always been forward, on achieving what the Founding Fathers could not or would not do.   If we genuinely care about this ‘grand experiment’ in democracy, we must actively participate in it.

When government no longer represents the governed, when citizens no longer have body autonomy, when one Right infringes on the safety and welfare of any American, we must stand up, we must act.

Change does not happen because of thoughts and prayers, marches and chants, or social media posts. Change happens by voting.

Voting in every election, not just the Presidential elections.  In every Local and State election, your voice needs to be heard.  The power to elect those who can make change in our laws is given to every single American citizen over the age of eighteen. 

So today, you can have your BBQ and your fireworks, or you can have your protests and parades, but between now and November you must educate yourself beyond what your TV or your Party tell you, you must register, and you must vote.

Governing isn’t about appeasing special interests; it is about representing the entirety of your constituency. 

The time for partisan politics and winning at all costs is long past.

We all hope for a better tomorrow and that change will come, but hope is not a plan.

Take action.  Vote as if your future depends on it.

Just as it did in 1776, your actions can change the course of this Nation and bring us to where ALL of us are equal, all have the same Rights and responsibilities, and all feel represented by those who put life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness above everything else.

I will still celebrate our independence today, not to honor the past, but for the opportunity to create a better future and a more perfect Union.

The New King George

July 4th is my favorite holiday.

Not for the fireworks and the BBQs, but for the history and the meaning.

A band of patriots had enough with Great Britain and set forth to chart a new course for a new country.  Beyond the “facts … submitted to a candid world”, “appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions”, they laid out an ideal and a plan for something the world had never seen before.

The Declaration of Independence set the foundation for our Nation and the freedoms and rights that are defined within and inherent to it and our Constitution.

Unfortunately, after nearly 250 years, we still struggle with the concepts.

While to many of us, the truths Jefferson referenced have always been self-evident, to far too many they are not.

Too many Americans still do not know what freedom is, and too many do not understand that they are still not free.

The United States has only 5 percent of the world’s population, but accounts for 25 percent of the world’s prisoners. For some, their only crime is poverty.

There are laws being written and implemented today that restrict rights to health, to happiness, to vote, and to gather.

Our ‘leaders’ are no longer representative of the People, but career politicians funded by special interests and big business.  The Founders warned of a divisive two-party system, but we paid no heed.

Regardless, there are still citizens today without full representation in Congress.

For all who continue to fight against change, against respect, against people and circumstances you do not understand or agree with, you are not only on the wrong side of history, you are the antithesis of what the Declaration was about.  You are the new King George.

For the rest of us, the true patriots, we can solemnly celebrate today, even though we must continue to work to form a more perfect Union. We understand that change is not only inevitable, it is necessary, and that none of us are truly free if any of us cannot or do not experience freedom.

There is still a long path ahead of us, and we are at a crossroads.  We can either watch 245 years of this Grand Experiment end in failure, or we can “mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor” to support and defend the very ideas and ideals we celebrate today.

Let us choose to honor the strength and their sacrifice of those visionaries, along with all those who have fought valiantly in the name of Freedom.

The world is watching; our very future depends on it.

The Horns The Devil Gave Me

“Where are your horns? Don’t all Jews have them?”

47 years later, this question still haunts me. 

I was 5 years old.  My family had just moved from New York to Virginia.  That’s when I met Keith.  For those first few days after the move, Keith and I were inseparable – exploring my new neighborhood, riding Big Wheels, and playing games.

One day Keith heard that we were Jewish and asked to see my horns.  The horns on my head.  The ones the Devil put there.  All Jews have them.

My mother tried to correct him, with no success.  She even went to talk with his mother.  That made it worse.  Keith was not allowed to play with Jews.  It is a tough lesson to learn at 5, or at any age.  I did not understand what happened.  I just knew I did not have my friend to play with.

This was one incident in my distant past.   There was no violence.  No real hatred; just profound ignorance and hurt.  I cannot imagine what it would be like to have that thrust upon someone every single day of their lives.  Mistrusted, hated, abused, persecuted, for their religion or their skin color, or anything.

All these years later, while it has not been directed at me personally, the hatred and ignorance still exist.  Even worse, hate crimes and anti-Semitism are on the rise.  I am not a practicing Jew.  I do not go to temple.  I married outside my faith (or my grandparent’s faith.  We never really lived it). It does not impact me directly, but I feel it personally.

For my friends of color and everyone in black and brown communities who feel this ignorance and hatred and persecution and fear every single day, my experience pales in comparison.  I will never comprehend the reality you are living but I can listen, learn, empathize, and stand alongside you.

No one should live in fear because of the color of their skin or the religion they practice.  No one should die for those reasons, either.

I share my story not for empathy or to make any type of equivalence, but to join in solidarity with those who have been marginalized, mistreated, and maligned for too long.  While I cannot change the past for any of us, I can work with you to change our future.