Saturday Political Soap Box 15

I had the privilege of a family trip with Alison and young Benjamin to Colonial Williamsburg and Washington, DC. It was a trip to show Benjamin the historic roots of our country and our republic. Even though it's difficult to fit in these types of vacations, both monetarily and to carve the time away from work and other family obligations, we thought it important to do, for Benjamin's civic education and because there were only a few more years left that Benjamin would even want to be on vacation with his parents.




The highlight of the trip to me was a street theatre performance in Williamsburg. It moved and went up and down the street and we followed it. It included not only confrontations between men representing the American and Tory points of view, but also discussions among women and slaves (who briefly thought the British might free them). Everything culminated in a very dramatic reading of the Declaration of Independence. It started with the first paragraph being read by a government official from the second floor balcony of the Capitol. But then it broadened out to include slaves (reading "all men are created equal"), women, the wealthy, the tradesman, the farmer, the poor.



It made you realize that the Declaration of Independence and our constitution are not stagnant, unchangeable documents, but a living promise and force for progress towards a better and more complete democracy. It took hundreds of years, and efforts by many determined people to fulfill that promise. Abolitionists, African Americans, immigrants, suffragists, progressives, unionists, counter culturists, the LGBT community, our brave soldiers - these and many more have expended heroic efforts to make our republic more democratic and inclusive. Never had I been more proud to be an American and part of this great journey.



There have been setbacks, some of horrible consequences. The oppression and near genocide of our native American population is a terrible blight on the American soul. The defeat of slavery, only to fall back into the morass of Jim Crow was very sad and disillusioning. And in present day, to watch hard fought for voting rights be shaved away by voting suppression efforts by Republican state legislatures, makes me realize that the battle is never over. It must be constantly fought by each generation, a never ending battle for truth, justice, equality, basic human rights and dignity - the American Way.