“America has a long way to go until it becomes the country it thinks it already is.”
When I first read that sentence I was stunned by its simple truth. In a few words a former Canadian defense attorney summarized not only why our criminal justice system is in such a mess, but why our nation is.
Indeed, the political decisions, social policies, and behavior in the world community we as a people support underscore the fact that the kind of country we think we are and the kind of country we actually are could not be more different.
Like most nations there are many wonderful things about us that we all cherish. And like most nations there are many others things about us that are anything but wonderful. The latter is the part we have trouble with.
“America has a long way to go until it becomes the country it thinks it already is.”
That statement is not only an assessment of where we are as a nation, but suggests the path we can follow to bridging the gap he identifies.
But just as it is difficult for us as individuals to face issues about ourselves that prevent us from being the person we think we are, or the person we say we want to be, it is equally difficult for us to confront ourselves collectively as a country.
We Americans are not prone to honest introspection. We prefer to believe that we are the greatest nation on earth, the last great hope for humankind, the one nation everyone wants to come to, and so anything wrong with us pales in comparison to everything that is right with us.
Armed with this kind of self-delusion we insist that we have more freedom than any other nation when it isn’t true, that we have the strongest democracy in the world when it isn’t true, a better educational system when it isn’t true, a better healthcare system when it isn’t true, that we are more compassionate than any other nation when it isn’t true, that we welcome strangers in our midst more than any other nation when it isn’t true, that we have a better judicial system than any other nation when it isn’t true.
“America has a long way to go until it becomes the country it thinks it already is.”
This is a truth I want to explore in detail in future Blogs. One reason I do is because I am persuaded that at the core of our self-deception as a nation is the fact that years ago we convinced ourselves that we were and are a nation especially blessed by God, that America was and is the new “promised land,” enjoying special divine favors not given to other nations.
These beliefs are now deeply rooted in the America psyche, creating a mythological framework that not only allows us to explain away our moral flaws as a people, but has led and still leads us to avoid addressing in our politics and in our religion institutions the root causes of the political, social, and religious upheavals we have experienced and are experiencing at this critical time in our country’s history.
But if we can engage our past and our present honestly, we might see more clearly what each of us can do to help our country actually practice the freedom and justice for all we think we already do.
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Buying into the notion that our country was from the beginning blessed by the Deity, that it is the greatest nation ever founded on the earth, that is was founded as a Christian nation is to buy into a dangerous delusion. It prevents us citizens from examining the ethics of our behavior. Stiff doses of Reality would be healthy medicine taken on a continuous basis. Cheerz!
Gene, in small doses it may go down okay. Let’s hope so.
A great expansion on the original sentence. I was fortunate to be part of the exchange that prompted that sentence. The older I get ,and the more I learn, the more I realize the deep truth that sentence articulates. I am very pleased that you picked up on it in this very insightful blog. Thanks! I hope that many people read this blog and do some introspective thinking about what it says.
My gratitude for sharing the articles, Wally.
Well said Jan. I look forward to further ideas of what it is that “each of us can do.”
“But just as it is difficult for us as individuals to face issues about ourselves that prevent us from being the person we think we are, or the person we say we want to be, it is equally difficult for us to confront ourselves collectively as a country.” This is also a truth so simple it is easily missed. I echo Wilbur’s anticipation of what each of us can do…
Thanks, Dirk. I am anxious to dig into it.
I am reminded here of the saying: “Ignorance is bliss”. I think most folks are so self-absorbed in their own world, in their own truths and environment, thinking “outside the box”, their own box, is not only difficult it’s work! It can also be quite unsettling, even frightening. No wonder most people don’t do it! Those who come to questioning early and naturally seem to gravitate toward work or avocations that challenge status quo or serves those in distress. Those of us who are older and have taken more of the time available to us in retirement to explore and question our world and culture are discovering some of those difficult realities and are experiencing an awakening. This is healthy. There are many ways and organizations, typically local, dedicated to moving America toward actually becoming what it thinks it already is. It will be good to see more of this topic in your future blogs.
Thanks, Bob.
Bob,
Your comment about using retirement time to “wake up & look around” is interesting. That has been my experience. Lots of things to see and learn outside of one’s little box.
Wally,
Yes, my retirement experience too. As wiser elders with a greater scope of vision we can help inform those who are willing to listen; campaign on behalf of truth and seek better balance in our world.