I am a proud American patriot, unmoved by vacuous symbols and rituals, but by a virtuous ideal.
Our founding principles and historically evolved values call me to develop an identity transcending the limitations of my race, religion, class, national origin, gender, and party. My obligation and opportunity, as a citizen of the United States, is to break free of those chains and gain membership in a multifaceted community and a more profound sense of what it means to be a human being.
Our nation is the first in the history of civilization to lay the foundation for such a transformation. We have reason to be proud of that, and to be humble, recognizing that we have far to go in the realization of our vision. Our resolve to attain it is under constant challenge from those who appeal to our fears, anxieties, and superficial impulses, using neurologically and hormonally effective means of psychological manipulation.
Artful deceivers identify scapegoats for us to demonize as objects of our hostility, trying to splinter us into alienated factions. Yet we know from our own history that every advance we’ve made toward that vision was gained by our solidarity and collective action.
E pluribus unum.
David Broadwater
Atascadero
This article appears in Nov 3-13, 2022.
Pretty tough to be unified when POTUS and many in Congress continue to demonize those that disagree with them.