HAROLD HALPERN: A call for action and compromise to achieve a 'more perfect Union'

The season of Thanksgiving, Chanukah and Christmas is a time for thankfulness and to shine a light into our lives and the lives of our fellow citizens.

Except for native Americans, we are all immigrants living together in a country that brought forth the first democracy. We all share the aspirations of our Declaration of Independence and Constitution.

The preamble to the Declaration reads, "We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal, that they are endowed … with Rights” of “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness …”

And the Constitution preamble states, “We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility … and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity … do establish this Constitution.”

This constitution set forth the powers and limitations of government with checks and balances to prevent a dictatorship with a Bill of Rights protecting our individual freedoms including speech and religion.

The founders wrote that they were creating a “more perfect Union,” not claiming it to be “perfect.” Compromise was required to achieve the goal of uniting all the states into one United States.

The founders left to all future generations the task of ongoing perfection. This responsibility is inculcated in us by all our religions who believe God has commanded us to perfect the world – and by humanists who believe that human ethical responsibility creates this obligation. Perfection is the goal that is slow and uncertain but each one of us is to continue the task.

The major moral of failure of the Constitution was that it permitted the continuation of slavery. The founders accepted it as a compromise. Many hoped it would voluntarily end. But it took a Civil War to end slavery. However, mistreatment and denial of the rights of Black continued after the war.

Our Black fellow citizens still suffer from prejudice in many phases of life. Reverend Martin Luther King Jr., in one of the greatest orations before 250,000 in Washington D.C. in August 1963, spoke of his dream, “a dream … rooted in the American dream …that all are created equal,” and that … children “will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.”

This led to the adoption of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, prohibiting discrimination based on race, color, sex, national origin and religion in public places and federally funded programs as well as strengthening enforcement of voting rights and desegregation of schools. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 followed, banning discriminatory voting practices.

Reverend King reminded us on March 31, 1968, at the National Cathedral that “the arc of the moral universe is long but bends toward justice.”

We have accomplished much since 1776, making our country a great democracy, of citizens of diverse nationalities, races, religion and cultures all possessing not only the equal right to vote but all legal rights.

But we still have much to do to make to make our country a perfect union.

Today, we are living in a period of rapid increase in hate crimes and harassment. Roughly 62% of hate crimes were based upon race and ethnicity with the largest percentage being Black victims with an increasing percentage of Asian victims; 20% of victims based on sexual orientation; and 13% based on religion, with an increasing percentage of Muslims and the largest percentage of victims being Jewish despite being only 2% of our population.

Our government has responded by pushing for better tracking of hate crimes, by creating public awareness, providing funds for police training about hate crimes and strengthening public education as well as providing funds to help religious and community groups to provide for security. Advocacy groups individually and together respond to hate and prejudice by elevating awareness, report incidents observed and by may kinds of educational programs.

All these actions are necessary and helpful but as the negative trend continues many urge that more must be done to reduce prejudice, the cycle of which is passed on from family to children at a young age. It is easier to succeed at reducing prejudice in children as it is not as embedded as with adults.

The Anne Frank Center for Mutual Respect writes, “Children learn from adults how to blame, hate and bully ...” Despite this, it reports that only 25% of the states mandate education addressing the dangers of religious, racial and other forms of hatred and bigotry.

It urges that action be taken to get legislation passed in each state making such education mandatory. A curriculum needs to be established and mandated for grades K-12 in all our states to teach the values of equality and dignity ( not to be confused with critical race theory) among all peoples, races, genders and sexual orientation.

The call has been made for a coalition of all advocacy organizations believing in the dignity of human equality, all religious leaders, all leaders of every ethnic group to accomplish this mission. The Anne Frank Center has said that the task of getting the required legislation “is complicated but not impossible.”

Will they and we answer the call to help in achieving this legislative mandate to enable the “arc of moral universe” to continue its “bend toward justice?”

Harold Halpern is a retired attorney residing in Lakewood Ranch and is a board member of the West Coast of Florida chapter of the American Jewish Committee and of the American Association of Jewish Lawyers and Jurists.

This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: OPINION: Action, compromise needed to achieve a 'more perfect Union'