The last time that I was in Washington DC, I stopped by the National Archives Building rotunda to view the fading "Charters of Freedom", those expressions of our country's founding ideals: the Declaration of Independence, the Bill of Rights, and the Constitution. While straining my eyes in the dim light to read the faded words written nearly two hundred and fifty years ago, my thoughts turned to the idea of the collective responsibility that a society has to its members.
The United States was founded by the herculean effort of a few charismatic leaders against very long odds, guided by the desire of a people to chart a destiny free from tyranny. The notion that the individual, when faced with a challenge, can rise as far as their own tenacity will take them to achieve great things is deeply rooted in our national character.
This secret to our country's success may be our Achilles heel. Action for the collective good has always come grudgingly in the U.S., usually in response to crisis. Here, debate over health care, education, the economy, or any other collective effort is often couched in terms of button-pushing phrases like 'creeping socialism' rather than ideals such as proactive collective effort for the common good.
It's so deeply hardwired in Americans to mistrust any united enterprise that many of us might have read that phrase "collective effort for the common good" and reacted unconsciously by cringing inside. And yet, for the good of our family, friends, coworkers, neighbors, religious institutions, and schools, we all perform willing acts of selflessness every day to ensure our common welfare. We support our schools, churches, temples, and religious centers. We obey the rules of the road, fund our military, and vote for our political leaders. We donate to homeless shelters and food pantries. When our neighbor needs a helping hand, we offer it.
Coming out of the National Archives Building rotunda that day, I thought about those faded words I had struggled hard to decipher: "...a more perfect union..." Hmm. "...ensure the blessings of liberty for ourselves and our posterity..." Sure. "...inalienable rights...". Uh-huh. So, are these ideas mere conceits? Just great prose crafted out of desperation 250 years ago to unite a pitiful band of rebels against an oppressive king? Do they continue to reflect the aspirations of American citizens today?
Collective effort, compromising to achieve a common goal, taking care of your neighbor, and your neighbor's neighbor. These are American values. They are human values. They are the keys to our success and, I believe, to our survival.
