We SHALL overcome!

Our Declaration of Independence has been, still is, and will be more than a good theory. It clearly declares a set of transcending ideals that guide us in our tumultuous struggle to become what we ought to be in the face of our “isness”.

There is no perfect state of being for humanity, because our evolution is like the expansion of a balloon’s surface, the more we experience, the more we know, and the more we know, the more we experience because out of our knowledge (our “awareness") we create new ways to experience.

Who and what we are as Americans can be demonstrated in the interactions of a set of contemporary Americans at different times in our history ... for me a good example is the period of Eisenhower (as Supreme Commander under FDR) - Truman - McCarthy - Eisenhower - Kennedy - Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. ... a turbulent period in our path forward--ever forward through twists and turns of buffetting opposing forces--guided by our ideals set forward so clearly by individuals at the dawn of our great nation who declared “for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.”

Our heritage contains no greater words than these:

“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.”

Bushco is a boil on our backside to be lanced and healed ... an ugly sore to be sure, painful and threatening ... but we have overcome horrible things done in our name before at great cost and suffering to ourselves and--sadly--to others ... but that is exactly the point ... we press on to what we ought to be, clearly stated at our beginning.

It is an honor to have been born and lived my whole life in a nation that once allowed slavery and where the strongest example of our ideals during my lifetime was provided by a black man, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, teaching us the power of peace and nonviolence.

We SHALL overcome. That is the enduring value of the transcending ideals of our Declaration of Independence.