There is a desire to say, when confronting the racist statements from the president and his sycophants, enablers, and like-minded bigots that "this is not who we are."
Except we must be honest with ourselves about the deep racist and xenophobic currents that have polluted our national story since its origin. From slavery, to the extermination of Native Americans, to Chinese exclusion, Japanese internment, anti-Jewish and Catholic quotas, and on and on.
For all the soaring rhetoric of our founding documents, for all the oratory poetry of our ablest statesmen, there has always been the ugly truth that this nation has been far from free and equal.
There is a temptation to look at what we are seeing now and recoil in horror, and in many ways that is the right response. But I suggest seeing a broader picture.
I remember a time when there were no women of color in the halls of power. Now they shape our national conversation and demand their right to be heard.
I remember when racism was allowed to fester as the status quo. Now we have a brighter spotlights of outrage.
I remember when big business ignored minorities and women, now we see marketing campaigns dedicated to the diversity of America's future.
For too long, too many of us, and mostly those with privilege, allowed ourselves to believe we had come further than we had. There can be no question now about the size or the starkness of the stakes. I believe the vast majority of Americans want to believe that "this is not who we will be."
I don't want to minimize the damage this president is causing. But this has been a fight that has been taking place over centuries, on battlefields literal and rhetorical. We must recognize the hard-won progress of those who fought for justice in the past and be determined to carry that banner forward to a place where our ideals more completely match our reality.
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