We need to remember what came before

I've stopped and started this three or four times already. Just having trouble finding a way to express how I'm feeling. So here goes.

Too many of us believe our country, our world would be better if everyone thought like us. We also are increasingly believing that those not like us are less than human. We are empathizing less and less. It's scaring me. We've forgotten how to disagree. How to listen to opposition and apply it. As we become more and more divided I'm fearful. I'm so worried that the extremes are high jacking the discourse of the nation. Driving us further and further apart and toward extremes. One faction though worries me most. Mostly due to the fact it was where I identified with more.

This push for nationalism is the most concerning thing for me. This idea that there is a singular historical national identity worries me. It's always a euro-centric ideology, typically conservative and focused on conformity. Personally it antithetical to the founding of the nation. The ideals that it's based upon. If we look to our history it should glaringly apparent that our constitution, it's ideals and the rights that it stands for are for ALL people. If we look at the foundation of our great nation we had foreign soldiers that came and went. Fought for ideals. Took and expanded them abroad. Some gave their lives, others stayed to developed the nation, others went to bring liberty to others. Names like Lafayette, Von Steuben, Pulaski, Kościuszko, de Kalb, and Fabriczy. They came for liberty. They came unable to speak a common language, yet they led, they taught, they fought. There was friction and that friction helped determine their success.

I signed up to fight for the ideals that his nation represent. To defend and support it's true foundation. The constitution and all it stands for. I truly mean that and take it to heart.

I'm afraid many of us are staring at today's problems and are forgetting our roots. Our deeply divided, complex, yet hopeful roots. The very idea of differing factions is essential to a robust republic. We aren't just a democratic mob weighed as one mass. It's not the way. But if those factions attempt outright dominance and begin to demean each other. When we turn to dehumanizing or minimizing other factions to ensure our own success we've crossed a line. One warned about by Washington and Madison. That warning had come to a full fruition before our very eyes.

Now for the real talk. We've crossed that line. When we have manifestos attacking a specific group of immigrants and the follow through of a mass shooting we've crossed that line. When we demand that english be spoken to be a member of our society we've crossed that line. When we feel we can deny due process to those who aren't citizens we've crossed that line. When we hold children and families separate for no crime for indeterminate periods of time we've crossed that line. When we've crossed that line we've forgotten the ideals this nation, this constitution were founded on. It's about time we remembered.