One Life Can

Why is it that those who lament the loss of days gone by and long for the way things used to be often do so with neglect for what that past meant to the oppressed? In days gone by I would not have been allowed to vote. I could not have attended a university. I would have been denied the basic rights that belong to all Americans. So it should be no surprise that “the way things used to be” hold little allure for me.

I am a proud and loyal American. For generations my family has worked the fields that feed our country. For generations we have built the cities and the roads and the bridges that connect our great people. We have served and defended our nation at home and abroad. We have loved her even when she has not always loved us back.

As we consider calls to action to return to the way America used to be, should we not aspire instead for something greater? Do we not have an obligation to fulfill the promise bought for us by the sacrifice of countless brave Americans who came before us? Should we not endeavor instead to move forward instead of backwards? Why reach for a shadowed past when the future shines so much more brightly?