Thank you for returning to Common Sense Civics and Citizenship. Americans are openly admitting and confronting the many and sudden changes in our culture. I hear of more people attending city council meetings and speaking up at school board meetings. This week, I wrote about the human need to be free. We also discuss ideas heard on the street and how we must now learn to examine these ideas and prepare to address them. I know you are concerned. We all are. I hope these articles will encourage you. Again, thanks for being here. If you like what you read, please pass on the link to this page: civicsandcitzenship.org Thank you!
Heard on the street… well, not exactly on the street, but in the court of public opinion. The statements are in quotes. My comment follows. We are interested in your comment, too. Please see the note on commenting at the end of this article.
- “Cancel Culture will never work.” The Declaration of Independence tells us the self-evident truth that ALL men (and women) are created equal. This means that some are not more equal in America than others in the sight of the law. Your view may not agree with mine, but you have every right to express your ideas and every right to think differently than I do.
- “We need equity, not equality.” Again, the Declaration of Independence states that we are created equal, regardless of race, color, creed, or financial status. In the United States, we have equal opportunity, not equal outcomes, unless you want a society where the population lives in perpetual victimhood. Equity also keeps a people in perpetual childhood, where the governed are always looking for someone else to do something else for them. Human initiative is destroyed, and depression takes the place of a purposeful life. People who lived in the former Soviet Union or Eastern Europe can tell us a lot about “equity vs. equality.” In my view, personal sweat equity, not a government-imposed equity program, will lead to a satisfying life.
- “Americans can judge each other by skin color and decide who is inherently evil.” This is patently FALSE. Whatever happened to Dr. Martin Luther King’s admonition to judge people by the content of their character and not the color of their skin? Do you mean to tell me that the truth of Dr. King’s statement is no longer relevant today? Dr. King’s wisdom in that statement is only about 60 years old, but it is backed up by ancient wisdom, which declares, “Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment.”
Americans, we cannot stand by and let those among us redefine who we are and what we stand for. We must not remain stunned that traditional Americanism is no longer well-received in the marketplace of ideas. Instead, think about statements you hear and practice a wise response with candor, calm, and facts. I’m not asking us to be responsible for how others receive what we say. I’m asking us to have the courage to say it.
This is Common Sense Civics and Citizenship.🇺🇸
