Rep. Michael Day Op-Ed: Celebrating Our Values

Editor's Note: The following is an op-ed from State Representative Michael S. Day, who represents Stoneham and Winchester.

As Americans, we believe that all of us are created equal; that we should all enjoy the same rights, privileges and opportunities in life, no matter our station. The American dream is premised on the concept that we are free to pursue happiness in whatever form that means to each one of us.

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.”

We all know these words, and rightfully treasure and celebrate them every July 4th. This great country of ours is based upon ideals, and these words are the foundation of those ideals. They are powerful and remain revolutionary in most corners of the world some 240 years after our founders first put them to paper. We have a sacred duty to protect these principles from those who would erode them by word or deed.

Through the years, certain political demagogues try to claim that the pursuit of happiness is or should be exclusive to a particular group. Today’s xenophobic and anti-immigrant rhetoric – as dangerous and irresponsible as it is – is truly nothing new. In the 1850’s, the American Party was a national political party that rose in prominence and power by promising to curb the influence of immigrants in the government. Limited to Protestant men, the party came to be known as the Know Nothing party, and it preyed upon fears that an influx of Catholic immigrants was giving the Pope in Rome power over the American government at all levels. The Know Nothing party gained power, in large part, because its members felt disenfranchised and disconnected from the political establishment, and its supporters flocked to those who made extravagant promises despite having little to no experience in governing.

While many now look at Massachusetts as a bastion of progressive political thinking, the Know Nothings swept into almost complete control of the state legislature in 1854, seizing 397 of the 400 seats. Of the 397 Know Nothing legislators elected in Massachusetts in 1854, a mere 35 had any previous legislative experience. In addition to its failed attempt to pass a state constitutional amendment limiting the right to hold office and to vote to men who lived in Massachusetts for more than 21 years, the party also “distinguished itself” by establishing a committee designed to prove sexual immorality in Catholic convents and by deporting more than 1,000 allegedly indigent aliens, including deporting a woman with an American-born infant to Liverpool without any means of support.

With Know Nothings in power, Americans saw the populist and inflammatory rhetoric put into actual practice. The Know Nothings met crushing defeats in the following elections and by the election of 1860 the party ceased to play a role in serious politics. Americans eventually recognized the harms caused by a government based on political oppression and the limitation of civil rights.

The current political climate is being dominated by wild rhetoric that seeks to prey on fears heightened by mass shootings and terrorist attacks. Certain individuals seeking office are attempting to do so by fanning the flames of prejudice and discontent. These individuals are working to convince those who feel that government is not responsive to their concerns to turn away from our shared values. But limiting civil rights or disparaging an individual or group based on their identity alone will not “make America great again.” America is great, and disenfranchising or isolating an individual or a group for political gain is the antithesis of what makes it so. Our founders recognized this in the Declaration of Independence, and we should remember that these are the ideals we celebrate when we watch the fireworks every Fourth of July.