So why would you shut anybody out?
How can you be patriotic if you don’t get the full benefits of being a citizen? Why would you be patriotic if, for instance, you’re not allowed to marry who you wish? If you’re always at a disadvantage because of the color of your skin, your religion, or your gender?
I read somewhere long ago that America may be the only nation defined by a set of ideas. You’re German, or Chinese, or Kenyan, based on where you were born and who your parents and grandparents were. But in America, you are an American because you have accepted the idea of government of the people, by the people, for the people, and that in the course of human events, etc., and anybody can grow up to become president
If you want people to love this country, that idea of democracy has to apply to all of them. They have to have a seat at the table. When Barack Obama became president, I’m sure it made many Black people feel like maybe this nation is worth being proud of and fighting for after all.
No man is an island, and even as the continent is lessened by every bit of seashore flooded by rising seas, so the nation is lessened by every person we turn away. (Apologies to John Donne)
So Civil Rights, equal opportunity for everyone, makes America Great.
(Please help keep my island afloat by visiting my CafePress shop!)
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