This month I yield the page with limited commentary to the words of a young student in an essay I came across recently.
Democracy! It is a strong word “Democracy”, for it gets into the blood. At first it is only a puff of wind and then it becomes a strong gala. It blew through the crooked streets of Boston, through the farmlands of Pennsylvania and through the rolling hills of Virginia. It is tapped out on the drums where men march and drill in secret, “Come all ye sons of liberty, and unite like free born men.” It is like a tide rising and a wind blowing and a drum tapping – tapping out the years that are past and the years to come. Democracy! We will stand for democracy!
All the freedoms we enjoy are denied those who live behind dictatorial curtains. If we could look through the eyes of one newly born to the United States we would realize that the very pen we use in our everyday life is a symbol of democracy. It means a freedom to write and speak what one thinks whether you agree with the government or not. Our right to hold our government accountable; our right to worship (or not to worship); our right to vote – are all resident within our privilege. People have died running toward these freedoms and people will die to uphold them; yet half the world is trying to destroy these symbols and what they stand for.
In the United States, where strands from every corner of the earth are woven together to make a great democracy, the newly arrived immigrant is encouraged and given every opportunity to become an American Citizen. Although the naturalized citizen cannot become President or Vice President, he can fully enjoy all the liberties guaranteed to by the constitution. In America everyone is equal, regardless of race, religion or creed. Many immigrants risk their lives to come to this country to enjoy all of these precious and sacred rights which we Americans take for granted. For these freedoms, the immigrant has helped us grow as a nation; to protect our shared heritage of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
Any person taking the oath of office assumes the solemn obligations, which every patriotic citizen on the farm, in the work shop or in the busy marts of trade should uphold. The constitution which prescribes his oath is yours. The government you have chosen him to administer is yours. The laws and the entire scheme of our civil rule, from the town meeting to the state and national capital is yours!
Democracy is the handiwork of people – people who make mistakes and people who have their own moments of shining triumph. Democracy offers something better so long as a single voice is able to contribute to all that has been done before. Each day in the halls of the nation’s capital, the elected representatives of America have an opportunity to add to our democracy’s continuing tradition, and while the voices sometimes sound discordant and confused; the fact that they are raised at all is the best testimony to the American belief, that the efficiency of a one man rule is not worth the cost of human suffering and the loss of individual dignity which accompany it.
I realize I am young and like a pioneer or explorer I still have a great deal to discover about America and Democracy. I only thank God that I was born in this wonderful land of freedom, equality and justice. Is it any wonder that I’m very proud to say, “I stand for Democracy!”
These words were written almost 70 years ago by my dad, Bob Roseman, within years of the end of WWII and under the full threat of a soviet enemy. I share this with you as a testament to the optimism of youth steeped in the ideal of an America that rises above “race, religion or creed” to find a common patriotism that was all about the unity of a great America rather than the divisiveness of them versus us even in the deeply troubled south of Charleston, SC. He wrote at a time so close to the near disaster of WWII that there was no doubt about the need to shelter refugees in the mind of a 12 year old; and no doubt about the dangers of foreign enemies and the struggle for others to be free. “…and while the voices sometimes sound discordant and confused; the fact that they are raised at all is the best testimony to the American belief, that the efficiency of a one man rule is not worth the cost of human suffering and the loss of individual dignity which accompany it.” His words still ring true and so I share them as a reminder that America has always been great; and even now when we face new threats – America is still great. Tonight we fight on for that greatness!
With respect and admiration
Deb Roseman, President Katy Area Democrats
