One Nation Read online

  Another excellent reason to be familiar with history is to avoid repeating the same mistakes. The stock market crash of 1929 exacted a severe toll on the people of our nation and our legislators realized, in hindsight, that some of our banking and investment policies had contributed to the crash. Several laws were crafted, including the Glass-Steagall Act, which separated commercial and investment banking activities. Sixty to seventy years later we forgot about many of the horrors of those difficult financial times as well as the reasons why we imposed appropriate regulation on speculative financial activity involving private resources. It only took about twenty years before we faced another near crash. The new regulations that had been put in place were even harsher than the ones that followed the crash of 1929. Perhaps this was an overreaction, but none of it ever had to happen again if our leaders had been more diligent in their study and understanding of history as well as their understanding of human nature, which is characterized by such traits as greed and selfishness. I am not one of those persons who thinks that no regulations are necessary on behalf of the government, but I believe careful attention to history and regular meetings with experts of differing views can provide a great deal of safety and help us avoid unnecessary pain.

  We cannot ignore the socially tragic events of our past, but they can be taught in the context of learning experiences that improved our unity and vision. For instance, we were dragged, kicking and screaming, into both world wars because of our isolationist policies. Many of our allies and some of our own citizens were not happy with our reluctance to enter the fray, but we naïvely thought that we could remain neutral and even benefit financially by selling supplies and arms to anyone with money. From these experiences, we learned the importance of putting the fire out before it gets too big. We also learned that isolationist policies are not a luxury to be afforded the pinnacle nation in the world. With power comes great responsibility and the need to lead rather than simply react to volatile international situations with the potential to affect our security. This does not require our involvement with all the international conflicts in the world, but strategic overt or covert intervention can preclude future difficulties. Even as this book is being written, massive demonstrations and horrific fighting is taking place in Egypt where ultimate control remains uncertain. We clearly don’t know which side to support in the conflict and it is therefore wise to adopt a wait-and-see attitude. This is a marked contrast to the situation that occurred in Iran four years ago when the populace was rising up against an unjust government and we stood by and did nothing as the people were slaughtered by the military. If we use these occurrences as learning experiences that enhance our future international relationships, it will be worthwhile.

  We live in a sophisticated world with many moving parts and it is no longer acceptable or advisable for Americans to know more about the candidates on Dancing with the Stars than they do about current affairs and who their representatives are. More important, we can evaluate what we hear in the news and from political candidates only if we are able to put it in the context of historical knowledge. The more we know about the great things that our nation has accomplished, the more pride and patriotism we cultivate among the citizenry.

  Action Steps

  Read some of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s speeches and see if you can determine why he could be considered a conserative.

  Determine to stay abreast of current events by reading an objective newspaper or watching an objective news broadcast daily. Avoid news sources that leave out major stories because they don’t fit a political agenda.

  Consider whether you have ever suppressed knowledge or arguments that disprove a viewpoint that you hold.

  If you identify an area where you have revised history or selectively ignored a fact, admit it. Challenge those with whom you disagree to do the same.

  BIGOTRY

  It is sin to despise one’s neighbors; blessed are those who help the poor.

  PROVERBS 14:21

  When my mother, brother, and I returned to Detroit after living in Boston for a couple of years, we moved into a multifamily dwelling in a racially mixed neighborhood. It was the early sixties, I was ten years old, and the civil rights movement was still in its adolescent stages. We lived adjacent to the railroad tracks, which served as the line of demarcation between primarily black and primarily white communities. Since our home was on the white side of the tracks, my brother and I attended Higgins Elementary School, where there were only a handful of black students, most of whom were assigned to the special education section. I was very slight in build, so I was assigned to a regular classroom even though my academic performance was abominable, because the administrators recognized that there was a lot of violence in the special education classrooms and that my size might not be conducive to long-term survival. Racial stereotyping was common and widely accepted among both adults and children and racially charged comments were often heard.

  The black kids were greatly outnumbered in our neighborhood and tended to be rather docile and submissive in order to avoid trouble. On the other side of the tracks there were a number of black gangs that tended to be quite aggressive toward one another and toward whites. There was a community center nearby on the black side of the tracks that was well equipped and attracted youngsters from both communities with its after-school activities. On most days everyone got along at the center, but whenever there was an interracial fight the spectators promptly chose sides based on race. The adult supervisors would intervene quickly, but at times the feelings were so intense that fights between black and white gangs ensued, sometimes with significant injuries.

  Although I never joined one of the gangs, I knew a lot of people who were in them and was privy to the conversations of both black and white gang members. Hate speech and animosity were rampant on both sides, with an abundance of derogatory and hateful names being casually tossed about. Because of my religious upbringing and the constant preaching of my mother about God’s love and the need to treat everyone equally, I never bought into the race baiting and hatred that I saw all around me. Nevertheless, I became very aware of the negative opinions and inappropriate emotional attitudes in both the black and white communities. I saw black gangs plotting against white individuals in the same way that white groups plotted against black individuals. In other words, the prejudice, hatred, and racism were not exclusive to only one group.

  I can vividly remember being the only black student in my eighth-grade math class at Wilson Junior High School in Detroit. We had a substitute math teacher from one of the Slavic countries who just could not comprehend how I was able to constantly achieve the highest math scores on all the tests. She was constantly sending notes home to my mother about the miraculous achievements in my academic endeavors. I seriously doubt that she was a bad person, but she had been fully indoctrinated into the belief that blacks were intellectually inferior, so my success was a miracle in her eyes.

  I also remember seeing black kids throwing rocks at Hasidic Jews simply because they dressed differently and because no one was stopping them from engaging in such racist and mean-spirited acts. In retrospect, one of the cruelest things I’ve ever witnessed was the taunting, teasing, and harassment of elderly people who had difficulty getting around. These are only a few examples of the latent prejudice that exists in our society.

  In my experience, bigotry tends to be a product of ignorance. The more sheltered one is, the more likely one is to have negative views about someone who belongs to an unfamiliar group. Areas where bigotry is damaging the unity of American society are race, religion, gender, age, and sexual orientation. Let’s look at each of these individually.

  Racism

  Racial bigotry is certainly much less common in America today than it was when I was growing up. Because segregation was so prevalent, there were not a lot of opportunities for members of different races to work together and socialize together. Since whites held the most powerful and lucrative positions in society, mo
st of them were certainly in no hurry to share those positions with others. Blacks, on the other hand, were becoming progressively more educated and therefore impatient to share the fruits of their labors. This eagerness was frequently misinterpreted by whites who coined the term uppity to characterize those blacks who, in their opinion, didn’t “know their place.” Those blacks who were very docile and cooperative were frequently rewarded with better jobs and more money, while the less subservient blacks were humiliated and disrespected.

  It was common for whites to believe that blacks were dirty, unintelligent, and sexually promiscuous. These beliefs informed hiring practices and property distribution. Many of the whites in those days found ways to rationalize their unjust treatment of fellow human beings, arguing that they were not racists but rather protectors of traditional values. It wasn’t unusual for some whites to say that blacks should be grateful to have been brought out of the African jungles where they faced a very meager existence. (Talk about historical revisionism and elitism, especially since the lives of blacks in Africa were complete; they had knowledge of how to live off the land, something that American whites of that time would probably have had difficulty doing if they were placed there.)

  Unfortunately, blacks also harbored some false assumptions about whites. As a youngster I frequently heard that white people carried lice and that you had to be very careful when you were around them or you would get them too. It was also frequently said that whites were greedy and cruel. Obviously, none of the things that were said about either group were true, but these kinds of bigoted notions were passed down through the generations, thereby poisoning race relations.

  Though the days of legalized segregation are over, racist bigotry and prejudice still exist today, both in overt and covert ways. I can remember times when I would be walking in a white neighborhood and in short order a police car would show up, undoubtedly summoned by a concerned onlooker. Unfortunately, this and worse still happens today, as evidenced by the Trayvon Martin case. A neighborhood watchman, George Zimmerman, suspicious of the young black man who was walking through the neighborhood late at night, shot and killed Martin after an altercation. The real tragedy is that a young life was lost and another life ruined because both individuals made assumptions about the other that were probably untrue. I hope this tragedy is not useless and we can learn something about how neighborhood watchpersons should be trained by police and what types of weapons, if any, they should use. I love the idea of tasers for neighborhood guardians, because they usually are not lethal.

  More subtle than assuming someone to be a criminal because of his or her race, expecting someone to vote a certain way or follow a certain philosophical line of thinking simply due to skin color is every bit as outrageous and unfair as Jim Crow laws. To facilitate dependency by giving able-bodied people handouts rather than requiring they work for pay is every bit as cruel (even if unintentionally so) as the activities practiced by racists of the past. If the guilty parties could exercise enough humility to recognize that they might actually be doing harm to those they purport to help, I’m certain that things could be done fairly quickly and in cooperation with others of goodwill to improve the plight of millions of Americans.

  Religious Bigotry

  Religious bigotry is also a problem today. While we might think we only see it in the streets of Iran or Egypt, and congratulate ourselves for being extremely tolerant when it comes to religious freedom, we still need to make progress in this area. A close look at our attitudes nationally reveals a drastic need for improvement in our understanding of religious tolerance as a fundamental pillar of the American Constitution.

  It is widely believed that throughout history more people have been killed in the name of religious causes than any other cause. Often religious crusaders are so certain that only they can be right, that they will stop at nothing to either convert others or eliminate them. Certainly the Islamic extremists of today feel that way, just as the Christian crusaders felt years ago. This history of intolerance by some religious adherents has understandably caused many people to shun religion and to look unfavorably upon those seen as religious.

  As a Christian, I can fully understand the aversion to religious extremism and hypocritical religious propaganda put in place to create wealth and maintain positions of a very few leaders. Jesus Christ would also have an aversion to this kind of false religion. He preached love, acceptance, and forgiveness. Even though he was all-powerful, he led a humble life directed toward improving the lot of others, but the Christian movement that he started has been so distorted by some that it is sometimes hard to recognize.

  If one is able to cut through all the garbage and analyze the real principles set forth by Christ, they can be distilled into two major entities: love of God and love of your neighbor. That means respecting what God has told us and being caretakers of all He has created. And it also means being respectful of every man and being fair to all people regardless of how they may differ from you. It means leaving the judging to God and not trying to impose our ideological beliefs on others. This last point is one that is particularly important for those entering the political arena and who may at some point assume power.

  Whether or not one likes Christianity or any other religion is not the point, however. Our Constitutional Bill of Rights states that “Congress can make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” In other words, our government should not support particular denominations or religious groups, but neither should it prevent anyone from expressing their religion.

  Unfortunately, our nation seems to have forgotten the latter part of that statement. The media is peppered with stories about communities or organizations demanding the removal of patriotic symbols or crosses from private property simply because such symbols are offensive to some. Recently a community in the Northeast was forced to remove a memorial to fallen soldiers because the memorial was reminiscent of a Christmas tree. In this case the bias was so great against the concept of Christmas that it trumped respect and honor for our fallen military personnel.

  In the rotunda of the original Johns Hopkins Hospital is a twelve-foot statue of Jesus beckoning those in need to come to him. When that statue was first placed, several physicians and scientists vehemently protested its presence, stating that Hopkins was a scientific institution and there was no room for religious symbols. The controversy grew so ferocious that the decision was made to remove the statue. Ironically, the protest against the removal of the statue was even more vehement and the statue was brought back and has remained in that location to this day.

  As upsetting as religious bigotry is in the private sphere, it is an even more serious concern in our government. There is nothing in our Constitution that supports the banning of manger scenes or other signs of Christmas in public places, yet some have called for their removal. For example, at Palisades Park in Santa Monica, California, manger scenes had been on display every Christmas for over fifty years, but they were banned in 2012. And this type of intolerance is proliferating throughout the country.

  The fact that some people want to take the words under God out of the “Pledge of Allegiance” and others want to remove the words In God we trust from our money, demonstrates the depth of misunderstanding of the First Amendment’s separation clause. The spirit of religious freedom supports various kinds of religious expression, and instead of trying to restrict one group or another from celebrating their religious beliefs through symbolism, we should be encouraging free expression on behalf of every group.

  Totalitarianism always starts with restrictions on the rights of others. We must avoid this at all costs. George Washington even said, “If the freedom of speech is taken away, then dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter.”

  It is appalling how far our country has strayed from the principles of the founding fathers. In Michigan, in 2013, a high school banned its football team from praying on the field. The practice of team m
embers opting to pray together was started when one of the students had requested that the team pray for an ill family member after a game. The ten-year-old tradition was banned because of “concern” by the family of a current team member who brought the practice to the attention of the ACLU. And in Washington, the capital of our country, our congresspeople are not allowed to say “Merry Christmas” in their mail unless they pay for the postage out of their own pockets. The Congressional Franking Committee, which reviews all mail, will not “frank” (send free of charge) any congressperson’s mail that has “Merry Christmas” or any other holiday greeting in it.

  These are examples of the kind of bias that ignores the rights and freedom of those who disagree with the purveyors of prejudice. The bias exists on both sides of the political spectrum as demonstrated by the horrible things the Christian Right said about Bill Clinton because of his affair with a White House intern, when in fact several Republican leaders were also engaged in extramarital adventurism. It would probably be a good thing for both sides to stay out of private issues that don’t affect one’s duties. Many on the Right exhibit bigotry by assuming that those who believe in the sacredness of big government programs have socialistic tendencies. This is of course not true and many people who have grown up with significant government assistance simply don’t know any other way of life and are patriotic American citizens. We all need to take a deep breath and concentrate on educating the populace about true liberty and justice while respecting one another’s religious—or nonreligious—beliefs. No one’s religious beliefs should have to be hidden in a truly free and open society, but if we the people do not stand up against the religious bigotry that exists right now, we may end up without any religious freedom at all.