Part 1: Seek To Understand: America’s Complicated, Hopeful Past and Present
“Equality is not a dream. It is a decision.”
—António Guterres, United Nations Secretary-General and former prime minister of Portugal
Since 2010, American democracy has been in decline. The Tea Party movement ushered in an era of radical partisan gerrymandering to achieve congressional control, restricting voting at the state level, and refusing to collaborate in Congress. In more recent years, international democracy rankings show the U.S. decline accelerating due in large part to presidential overreach, lack of regard for the rule of law, and election manipulation motivated by the far right. The U.S. currently has a freedom score of 81/100—down 3 points from last year and down 9 from 2016.
America has always been an imperfect democratic experiment, but before we can change it, we need to take stock of our past and present. Despite the current concerning trends, there’s more to the picture.
Let’s zoom out to take a 360° overview of our nation. Did you know that…
- The United States is the third largest country in the world behind Russia (1) and Canada (2).
- Roughly 350 million people live in the U.S., about 4.2% of the world’s population.
- 29% of Americans are Democrats, 28% are Republicans, and 44% of Americans describe themselves as Independents.
- For most of its history, the U.S. has had no officially declared language. More than 400 languages are spoken here—117 of which are Indigenous languages.
- The U.S. has 63 national parks, 6,792 state parks, and numerous tribal parks. More than 250 parks are co-managed by tribes and the federal park system.
- At just 4,500 words, the U.S. Constitution is one of the shortest such documents of any major government.
- Constitutional framers didn’t use the word “democracy,” but rather “constitutional republic” in hopes of preventing tyranny by a majority.
- The Library of Congress in Washington D.C. is the largest library in the world.
- Due to specific weather patterns and air currents, America has more tornadoes than anywhere else in the world.
- South Florida is the only place in the world where crocodiles and alligators coexist in the wild.
- A 17-year old designed the current 50-star American flag in 1958 for a high school history assignment. When it was later adopted by Congress, the teacher retroactively raised his grade from a B- to an A.
- There’s a basketball court on the top floor of the U.S. Supreme Court building—nicknamed “the highest court in the land.”
Knowing facts about our nation is the first part of creating a fuller picture. What’s your favorite fact about the U.S.? Share with us below in the comments!
Wounds, Healing, and Hopes
In order to create a more complete picture of our nation, we must also look at our nation’s failures, its movements toward repairing those failures, and the visions people hold for democratic freedoms.
For example, the historic wound of enslavement in America originated from failing to respect the humanity of all people by trading people as a commodity, owning people as property, and strategically denying people their rights generations after emancipation.
Consider the countless movements toward repair. Even early colonists objected to slavery. Northern states abolished slavery. People created the Underground Railroad.The 15th Amendment awarded the right to vote as a full citizen. Passage of The Civil Rights Act of 1964 and The Voting Rights Act of 1965. Approved municipal and state reparations efforts, and more. Since slavery’s origins, Americans have continually sought justice—and do so to this day.
What is the vision we hold? When it comes to the descendants of enslaved people, many have a sincere belief they/we should enjoy the same safety, opportunity, justice, rights, freedoms, and peace as other Americans do. To achieve this vision, many of us are seeking full voting access and reparations for past harms.
Slavery is one example of America’s past failures and its efforts to advance justice, but there are many.
What would you add to the list below?
The following list is not a complete or thorough history, but a starting point meant to jog your own memory. Use the Part 1: Seek to Understand worksheet or share your thoughts in the comments below. The Visions column is blank for you to complete.
| Failures and wounds of American democracy | Movements toward repair and democratic freedom | Visions, hopes, and dreams (haven’t achieved—yet) |
|---|---|---|
| Monarch-colonial origins taking the land, sovereignty, and lives of Indigenous people | Indian Citizenship Act of 1924, Voting Rights Act of 1965, language and cultural reclamation, returning land to original tribes | |
| Women’s second-class citizenship, failed ERA passage, SCOTUS ruling on Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization | Women’s property rights, 14th Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause, women’s voting rights (19th Amendment), no-fault divorce, Equal Credit Opportunity Act of 1974, Civil Rights Act of 1964, Roe v. Wade | |
| A nation founded on the work of enslaved people, denying rights for generations, Civil War | Slavery abolished in the North, Underground Railroad, emancipation, local efforts for reparations | |
| Racial inequality | Overturning Jim Crow laws, desegregation in schools and workplaces, Civil Rights Act of 1964, Voting Rights Act of 1965 | |
| Great Depression | The New Deal, Social Security, FDIC (Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation), Securities and Exchange Commission to oversee corporate reporting and stock exchanges | |
| American Imperialism: Manifest Destiny, Mexican-American War, displacement of tribes from their lands, Hawaii statehood | ||
| Pollution and urban sprawl | Antiquities Act, National Park Service, electrification, dam removal movement, federal nuclear waste oversight (DOE) | |
| Religious discrimination | First Amendment establishing the freedom to worship (or not) and banning the establishment of a national religion | |
| Industrial Revolution, poor and dangerous working conditions, no accountability for corporations | Increased employment, stronger public education, middle class, union organizing for workers’ rights, Fair Labor Standards Act (minimum wage, overtime pay, child labor rules), Occupational Safety & Health Act (OSHA) | |
| Department of Homeland Security and ICE: limited oversight, intrusive surveillance and searches, focus on anti-immigration, separating parents and children, warehousing people without due process | Passage of an act banning ICE from wearing “police” on uniforms, National Guard Proper Use Act, states refusing to cooperate with ICE, organized “know your rights” efforts |
Understanding our past increases our appreciation for who we’ve been as a nation, how we’ve grown, and where we still want to go. Knowing the truth of our history can help us recommit to its democratic north star. The vision is unique to each person, but we have much in common.
Take time in the next two weeks to complete the Part 1: Seek to Understand worksheet from this article.
In my next message, we’ll address the second of four practices: cultivating fondness and admiration. We’ll answer the question: How do we get out of the rut of thinking it’s all awful and pointless?