In the February 17, 1941 issue published by LIFE Magazine there is an article entitled, “The American Century” written by journalist Henry R. Luce, the man who started the magazines Time, Life, Fortune, and Sports Illustrated. He wrote:
“We have some things in this country which are infinitely precious and especially American- a love of freedom, a feeling for the equality of opportunity, a tradition of self-reliance and independence and also a co-operation. In addition to ideals and notions which are especially American, we are the inheritors of all the great principles of Western Civilization -- above all Justice, the love of Truth, the ideal of Charity.”
At this moment in time, we as Americans find ourselves juxtaposed between what is the now and what is to be. We live in a time of increasingly pragmatic movement: we are rethinking, reconstructing, remembering, regretting and reliving our reality. Which leads us to the question, “Who are we as Americans and what do we want?”
We have the power to achieve what we want. In our democracy, technically said power is vested in the people for the people. We vote to preserve or change that which is implemented in our governing system, well, slight disclaimer, we vote in representatives acting as envoys in our favor, and we trust them to perform their obligation with the utmost integrity. These representatives uphold that which we project as American. A country where freedom was fought for and attained, where a reigning attitude of “nobody tells us what to do” pervades our senses (even if we get in trouble for it), and where our very Pledge of Allegiance mandates, “Truth and Justice for All.” Thus, is not Luce’s above statement somewhat an obvious truism, or dare I say an “Americanism?” I had thought so, but I’m not so sure anymore.
Constitutions, established values, ideals, principles -- whatever you want to call them -- don’t exist to bar and bind a people’s psyche; they exist to keep the human mind and inevitable action to follow in constant reflection so that yes, truth and justice and charity may be extended to all. But is this the case in our present society? Is justice extended to all kinds of kinds, all factors of factions? Is truth told? Is charity generous in her offerings? How is our attitude as a nation conflating with our individualism, and is there friction or concordance? Do we have the courage and capacity to take sacrificial measures in our approach to America and ask, “What is working and what must be mended?”
American pragmatist, John Dewey, tackled the idea that society’s wheels churn and turn in a continuous evolution. He proposed changing the ways in which we organize ourselves and relate to one another so that we can partake in the incredible abundance of resources at hand. It seems like he issued a very American decree: test the waters, try and if you fail, try again until something works. One cannot deny that the American attitude is more pliable than a gold medal Olympian gymnast.
With this fodder in mind, I would like to bring to light two memorable political events that recently took place in the Poughkeepsie area, the visitation of Democratic candidate Bernie Sanders and separately, that of Republican candidate Donald Trump. Such opposite and polarizing hegemonies spearhead their respective factions with such gusto and stamina as I have never seen. This populist rift echoes Dewey’s call to reorganize and Frost’s axiomatic line, “two roads diverged in a yellow wood.”
I attended both rallies, taking in the different sights and sounds, and noted obvious differences between the two. While popular, hipster music filled Marist’s McCann Center at the Bernie rally, rock anthems resounded throughout a Mid Hudson Civic Center teeming for Trump. Men and women, young and old, the well off and the common man -- essentially samples from every walk of life -- gathered together to see and hear their hopefuls preach about what they will do to make our country better.
Say what you want about either candidate. No matter what, they are damned if they do, and damned if they don’t, because how on earth can one person, one party, one government, accurately fulfill the wants and needs of each individual? That mindset is not in accordance with American values. That has to do with the all too prominent "me factor."
Laws can be put into place that protect our borders and our citizens in the spirit of what is good for the whole. The poor and underprivileged should be taken care of by those with means to do so because charity and justice should always be at the back of our minds.
“Two roads diverged in a wood…” One tracked left and the other right. Which way is best for America? We, the “inheritors of all the great principles of Western Civilization.” The path we take is our trademark. It will define us from here on out. So, allow me to reiterate, who do we follow into the fight?
