Commentary by Sanford D. Horn
July 3, 2020
In the United States we the people celebrate Independence Day, not the fourth of July. Are you going to wish people a “happy sixth” when returning to work on Monday? On that date 244 years ago the British colonies of America declared its independence from the tyranny of King George III (1738-1820). No more taxation without representation. No more trials without juries.
For all our faults and foibles as a nation constructed of, by, and for mortal human beings, for all our missteps and sins, there are myriad reasons to salute Old Glory, sing the Star Spangled Banner, and rejoice in the greatness that is the United States of America. Such as being the most generous nation on earth. Such as opening our doors, legally, to more people than any other country. Such as the inventions and discoveries made by Americans. Such as the rights afforded people of all races, creeds, colors, and sexual orientation. Such as the freedoms granted by G-d, found in the United States Constitution. Freedoms such as “Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness” - not the guarantee of happiness - the pursuit of happiness.
We the people should not, must not, pay for the sins of our forefathers. After all, as the giant melting pot that we are, how many millions of Americans jumped into that pot after 1865? No amount of money can ever right that wrong, nor should it be attempted. Who should be paid? By whom? How much? For how long? The resentment will only deepen the already deepening chasm between the races.
Instead, a payment must be made in the guaranteed equal opportunity, not equal outcome, but equal opportunity. Dismantle, and rebuild, from the ground up, the concept of public education that it not be dominated by teachers’ unions and tenure protecting bad teachers. School choice must be permitted for all children, not just those rich enough to afford religious or parochial schools - schools with up to date books, materials, technology, and qualified teachers with proper training able to pass a subject exam every three or five years. More support from school administration, greater parental involvement, and stronger discipline.
If this sounds like I am asking for the moon, as an experienced educator, I know this is necessary. As citizens across this great nation, we know what the alternative looks like. It always starts with education, and not from the first day of preschool or kindergarten, but in the home. If those at home can’t provide some semblance of education during those all important pre-K years, that is where social services should play a role. These programs should be funded by eliminating the pork-laden overspending by the legislatures designed to kiss the collective tuchuses of the voters. This is where less is more.
This is the reparation due to the socio-economically disadvantaged. Education is always the key. It leads to greater competition. It leads to better, higher paying jobs, which leads to greater freedom and independence. Free from government dependence on welfare, failing schools, and/or a failing prison system which is far from rehabilitating.
Independence Day is more than fireworks, bar-b-cues, and yes, even baseball, which sadly this year will not be played on Independence Day 2020. On April 15, 1947 Major League Baseball righted a wrong when Jackie Robinson (1919-72) stepped onto Ebbets Field as part of the home team Brooklyn Dodgers. Read the Declaration of Independence - as a family, if possible. Celebrate the men and women in uniform, who gave us, and continue to give us, the freedoms we cherish. In 1948 President Harry Truman (1884-1972) righted a wrong by desegregating the branches of the military. Truman should be celebrated for that, as well as, in the same year, being the first world leader to recognize the State of Israel as a new member of the world of nations. Some would say Truman should be shunned by 2020 standards because he uttered racial epithets about blacks and Jews, yet those people would be wrong for not understanding the context of the period of history these events occurred. History does not exist in a vacuum - it evolves over time and the progress thereof should, must, be recognized and celebrated.
A more perfect union. Amendments 13, 14, and 15 certainly righted some wrongs - ending slavery, naturalizing former slaves as American citizens, and granting those new citizens - male, age 21 and older, the right to vote in 1865, 1868, and 1870 respectively. And the 19th Amendment righted a wrong in 1920, finally granting women the right to vote during the Woodrow Wilson (1856-1924) administration - just in time for that November’s presidential election.
There are those who are calling for the vilification of Wilson because the native Virginian was a racist. Princeton University, where Wilson served as president from 1902-10, and his alma mater (1879), officially decided last week to remove his name from the School of Public and International affairs as well as one of its residential colleges. Yet Wilson should be remembered for leading the United States to victory in World War I. He should also be remembered for appointing the first Jewish justice to the United States Supreme Court - Louis Brandeis (1856-1941), in 1916.
No one is perfect. No place is perfect - that’s Utopia, and that never existed, save for the fertile mind of Sir Thomas More (1478-1535) whose book was published in 1516. Not even the Garden of Eden. Should statues of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (1919-68) be torn down and streets in his honor renamed because he was a philanderer and a plagiarist? Should the monument to Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882-1945) be removed from its secluded location in Washington, DC because he interned 120,000 people of Japanese descent during World War II? More than 60 percent were American citizens. (OK, I think it should. The only good thing to come from FDR was FDIC.)
“He that is without sin... let him cast the first stone…” (John 8:7).
We don’t have a purity test in the United States - if so, the failure rate would be 100 percent. We no more take down the statues, monuments, or memorials of a Dr. King or an FDR than we do of a George Washington (1732-99; General winning the Revolutionary War and First President), Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826; Declaration of Independence and Louisiana Purchase), Andrew Jackson (1767-1845; winning the Battle of New Orleans capping the War of 1812 to preserve the Union), or Abraham Lincoln (1809-65; credited with freeing the slaves). We remember them for their body of work - their entire body of work. We honor them for the good they did for society, civilization, and/or humanity.
Happy Independence Day to all freedom loving Americans.
Sanford D. Horn is a writer and educator living in Westfield, IN.
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