By Enid Naranjo, JD
Faculty Member, School of Business, American Public University
In 1776 when Thomas Jefferson penned the Declaration of Independence defying Britain’s sovereignty, the concept of a republic with a democratic government system — “by the people and for the people” — was unique. Its future was also uncertain.
The Declaration of Independence states that “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that their Creator endows them with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” Consequently, people from all corners of the earth hastened to American shores in order to give life and expression to these sentiments.
An editorial published in the New York Daily Tribune on November 27, 1860, also notes: “The social, and especially the political institutions of the United States, have, for the whole of the current century, been the subject in Europe, not merely of curious speculation, but of the deepest interest. We have been regarded as engaged in trying a great experiment, involving not merely the future fate and welfare of this Western continent but the hopes and prospects of the whole human race.
“Is it possible for a Government to be permanently maintained without privileged classes…and without either hereditary or self-appointed rulers? Is the democratic principle of equal rights, general suffrage, and government by a majority, capable of being carried into practical operation?”
When the Founding Fathers concluded their work on the Constitution in 1787, Benjamin Franklin understood quite well that they had left the young nation “a republic … if [they could] keep it.”
Reuniting American Citizens after Deep Internal Divisions
The U.S. is no stranger to internal divisions. For some two and a half centuries, presidents have stressed the need for American unity.
The 1960s were a particularly notable example of civil unrest. President John F. Kennedy, speaking before an audience at Vanderbilt University in 1963, said: “In a time of tension it is more important than ever to unite this country…so that all of our people will be one.”
Fifty-eight years later, President Joseph Biden touched on the same theme in his inaugural address on January 20, 2021. He noted that “to restore the soul and to secure the future of America — requires more than words. It requires the most elusive of things in a democracy: Unity.”
Moving Past Our Society’s Obstacles
But as American society moves forward, there are obstacles. The path of freedom and democracy does not appear in a straight line.
A concept paper for the Vanderbilt Project on Unity and American Democracy observes: “American democracy is struggling amid deep polarization…questions about economic and social justice, and declining faith in its institutions. Total partisan warfare has replaced evidence-based problem-solving as the controlling force in our public life; the perpetual conflict engines are overwhelming the classic work of politics: the mediation of differences.
“Rhetorical jousting matches elicit emotional outrage, reinforce ideological intransigence, and elevate polarization platitudes above informed discourse. The path forward is all-too-often left uncharted — and, perhaps most tragically, even unsought the American experiment as a diverse, multiethnic democratic republic is undergoing one of its most difficult tests.
“America has been perennially shaped by argument and by divisions. Disagreement, after all, is the oxygen of democracy. Not since the Civil War have so many Americans held such radically different views not just of politics but of reality itself.”
There Needs to Be More Diversity in American Leadership
The task of governance for the framers of the Constitution was easier because of their racial, cultural and social homogeneity. Although we had an African American president in 2008, our country is still largely governed by leaders who can mostly trace their lineage back to Europe.
This lack of diversity poses a challenge for U.S. leaders charged with planning for the future of America. The American population of the 21st century is significantly multi-ethnic and culturally diverse; this type of population requires governance that takes that fact into account.
Rogers M. Smith, a University of Pennsylvania political science professor noted that Alexis de Tocqueville, author of “Democracy in America,” had concerns about American leaders being able to lead a country of diverse populations. In his lecture “The American Experiment: A 21st Century Assessment,” Smith references de Tocqueville’s concern about whether European-descended, economically striving Americans could find ways to co-exist with those they perceived as racially and culturally distinct. Smith also said that “Tocqueville did not see America as easily embracing very robust multiculturalism.”
Moving toward a Solution
The inherent implication in creating our “more perfect union” is the idea of working together. In order to work together, there has to be respect accorded to the “other”; without this respect, there can be no real progress.
Attitudes toward “others” sometimes begin in childhood, formed through experiences and exposure. We might say that education has been primarily competitive, nationalistic and therefore separative. A system that exposes a child to other cultures, races and customs moves toward a solution.
Former Supreme Court Justice David H. Souter took part in an initiative in New Hampshire that seeks to address pervasive civic ignorance. The initiative would make civic education a reality for all public school students, beginning in kindergarten and continuing through graduation from high school.
Responding to a question regarding the role and responsibility of schools in producing civically engaged students, Justice Souter answered: “I don’t believe there is any problem of American politics and American public life which is more significant today than the pervasive civic ignorance of the Constitution of the United States and the structure of government.”
About the Author
Enid Naranjo is an adjunct instructor in the School of Business. She has been teaching online classes in English and Spanish since 2009. Her academic credentials include a B.A. in history from the University of Puerto Rico — Rio Piedras Campus and a J.D. in law from the Inter American University of Puerto Rico. She is a multi-faceted business executive with over 15 years of experience. Enid has worked for several women-led enterprises, including the Hispanic Radio Network and Colon Enterprises, Inc. She is a member of the American Association of University Women (AAUW) for many years and the League of Women Voters (LWV) nonpartisan political organization.
