A cup of tea???

As we approach the tenth anniversary of the “war on terrorism” it might be helpful to look back and see how we have gotten here.  Perhaps a cup of tea, compliments of John Hancock, might be in order?

When our forefathers began this experiment in self government, many where fleeing religious persecution.  Realistically, our Puritan forefathers where not tolerant of the  ideas and concepts that challenged or questioned their point of view.  Witness the case of one minister, Roger Williams who was expelled from the Massachusetts Bay Colony.  Williams and several of his followers left the Bay Colony to seek freedom of worship and founded Rhode Island.  With William Penn’s founding of Pennsylvania the path towards tolerance was opened. These twin concepts, openness and tolerance of others and their practices, have become ingrained in our history.  These concepts are manifested in the first amendment to the Constitution, in the Bill of Rights, which is designed to guarantee individual rights.  As a result our country does not have a state sponsored religion and historically we have strived to maintained an open society.  

However our society historically and also today is not an inclusive society that universally welcomes diversity and embraces tolerance.  Witness the rise of the Ku Klux Klan which has shown our societal propensity towards intolerance.  Certainly an argument can be strongly made that the days of Klan have waned and passed, or have they?

A real question that we should ask ourselves is - have we changed over the years? Are we a welcoming society that encourages diversity and that is tolerant of the views of others?  I would want to believe that we willingly and happily undertake the challenges put forth in the Preamble of the UN Charter, which states in part - to practice tolerance.  However we see the rise of organizations that profess an agenda opposed to diversity and equality, such as the following:

The perfectibility, let alone the equality, of man is not possible and is not a legitimate political aspiration. - Statement of Principles of the National Policy Institute 

Is this statement of principles the tattoo of a single drummer, or is it a clarion call to greater action?  Is the cost of tolerance and diversity worth paying?  Are we seeing other individuals who do not feel the cost of tolerance and diversity are worth paying? I fear we are seeing people who will answer the above questions affirmatively.  Although I may disagree with them, I honor their right to speak.  

The history of freedom of speech goes to Athens, Rome and yes also Islam.  It is this diversity, this inclusion of ideas that makes our national gumbo so rich and satisfying.  At the same time we have this rich gumbo on the table, we are bombarded with calls to retreat into history.  The Tea Party would have us embrace, “the core principles of our Founding Fathers.” I am not sure what that means.  The realities we face today are far different from the realities our founding fathers confronted.  It seems to me that the Tea Party is as open and tolerant as Cotton Mather, a Puritan minister at Boston’s Old North Church, when conversing with the children of one John Goodwin. As an aside,  these conversations lead to the Salem Witch Trails.  

This past Wednesday we witnessed people acting under the banner of the Tea Party, crying out “Say no to social justice.” I have to wonder, is this the return to the core principles they envision?