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Constitutional Government
- A written constitution
- A government elected by the people
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Equality of treatment under the law
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No titled nobility
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Individual liberties guaranteed in law
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Every human being is born with the same basic rights and is guaranteed, in Thomas Jefferson’s phrase “Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness,” one of our nation’s most cherished principles, as expressed in the Declaration of Independence.
We must keep in mind that many groups are covered today that were not included at the time of the signing; the best that can be said here is that a promise was being made to adhere to certain principles.
The subsequent extension of voting rights to all groups is not an accidental byproduct of the principles of the Declaration of Independence and of the United States Constitution, but an expression of the “heart and soul” of its intended purpose.
It was the hope and the intent of the Founding Fathers to create a democratic society and one that would always remain so and only grow better– which is to say, more democratic— over time.
The men and women who fought the battles of the Civil War, the Union troops who held Cemetery Ridge at the Battle of Gettysburg, whose courage and willingness to sacrifice their lives would soon give new meaning to America’s struggle for equality–whose courage made Gettysburg the most incredible and dramatic victory of the Union Army and the turning point of the war–carried forward the struggle for liberty.
The promise made in 1776 lived on! Workers in the 1880s were laboring 12-14 hours a day, and they laid down their tools and went on strike for a new idea in American history: the eight-hour day. And they won that struggle, and the promise made in 1776 lived on!
Due to time restrictions, I cannot now list all the other popular struggles that have advanced America’s pledge to stand for human rights and human dignity, but there have been many.
Through every protracted struggle for human rights–
for labor unions, for civil rights of minorities, for the woman’s right to vote, for safer working conditions in coal mines and in every workplace in the country, for peace not war, for Native American rights, the rights of prisoners, the rights of terminally ill patients, the rights of the disabled, the rights of college students to enjoy academic freedom to study anything and learn anything and say anything–the promise of liberty lives on!
There are times during life, and during particularly difficult or intense struggles, where issues may seem to be clouded over, the path to truth obscured, the multiplicity of points-of-view confusing and bewildering–but we already have been through many tough struggles and we will undoubtedly face many new challenges.
The give and take of ordinary life on a day to day basis may sometimes obscures the struggle and hide from view a progressive outcome–but rest assured, new victories are coming and will never stop coming.
Look at the American people’s long list of impressive victories to extend human and civil rights to all Americans over the last 200 years to get us to where we are today (in terms of technology, standard of living, individual rights guaranteed in writing) and ask yourself these questions:
Do you believe the American people are fully capable of governing themselves, as our Founding Fathers believed? Do you believe the American people have sufficient understanding to extend and protect this same set of freedom rights, for ourselves and all Americans–can we do as good a job as previous generations have done for us??
Past generations have spilled their blood in the belief that somewhere on earth at least one country will proclaim openly the goal of freedom and will never stop trying to create a land where peace and reason rule. Can the American people rule themselves?
I do believe this to be true, and more than true–I know it in my heart to be true. But such promises do not come without a price; courage and perseverance are needed for all such struggles as these. As Thomas Jefferson remarked, “The price of liberty is eternal vigilance.”
Entrenched power does not give up easily. I do not expect to see all the battles won in my lifetime, nor will this struggle be over during the lives of your children, or grandchildren.
Each generation is called upon to do what it can to make this world a better place to live. No one can you tell you how to live your life but when in doubt try to remember some of the wise words you’ve heard in this class:
Live close to Mother Earth. Enjoy the life-giving power of her Standing People, her trees, and many other plants used for food and medicine, her life-giving offerings.
Live in harmony with Nature. Live in balance with all other living things. Remember that which is out of balance can be put right again. But for that, we need people who can remember and teach the old ways.
The greatest gift of all from Native Americans to the world– but most especially to this country–is an understanding of Nature, both “Earth Nature” and “Human Nature”; indeed, our native cultures practiced the finest of human virtues for countless generations and raised these virtues to their highest level: virtues such as honesty, compassion, courage, and perseverance.
The conquest buried some of these achievements in a mountain of racism but you can still see Native American virtues if you look closely.
They have raised belief in human dignity and equality to the highest level of commitment and understanding; theirs was no mere democratic form of government “in theory”– theirs was a living, breathing, democratic government in practice.
The United States can hardly claim more for a full democracy has not yet been fully achieved. It is sad that the very people who could teach us the most about democratic government, often sit and suffer on the poorest reservations right in the midst of this land of plenty (plenty for some but not all).
But then, when has politics ever been purely political to such a degree that greed did not enter into the picture? Avarice and greed, even when murderous and criminal, took over the minds of too many Europeans–whose fears and ambitions were fueled by wealthier men with still greater ambitions; the wealthy aristocrats of the thirteen colonies endlessly schemed how to multiply their riches by getting hold of Indian lands.
What followed was a theft of land on a grand scale . . . the land we live on today, even as I speak. Larceny, robbery, murder, trickery and deceit: whatever it took, there were those willing to stoop so low to steal land from Native Americans that they lost touch with all sense of moral decency.
And yet these “native peoples”, who have suffered to an unimaginable degree, may actually hold the key to teaching us the value of a healthy environment, a life lived in balance, and the blessings of mutual cooperation–based on trust, love, and respect–that still puts our two-party circus-like atmosphere to shame.
Many Indian peoples have a proud tradition of producing great orators, and they deserve to be heard. You have heard from one set of writers in our textbook but they are but one small group among many.
Native Americans have protected and advanced this ethos–this complex of philosophical ideas, virtues, and democratic practice–with great dignity and honor all these many long years.
Indeed, they have raised notions of loyalty, honor, honesty, courage, and wisdom to their highest pinnacles within human culture–no matter how great other cultures appear to be: Rome, India, China, Persia, Inca, Mayan, or what have you.
Qualities that we all esteem–patience, compassion, modesty, honesty, a sense of honor, pride, and modesty–in every area of human virtue, Native Americans excelled.
In their interaction with Mother Nature, they worked out a practical way of living and a spiritual way of appreciating the woods, hills, lakes, and rivers. In a day and age when we may be heading for an environmental catastrophe of the first order–whose exact magnitude of devastation cannot yet be determined–we would do well to listen to our Native American friends.
Mitakuye oyasin
We are all relatives.
In the spirit of Crazy Horse
Walk the good red road
