To the editor,
“You complete me.” Words of love, but also an admission that the speaker is missing something. We are incomplete on our own. Opposites attract. Yin and yang. Balance. This is the beauty of America. Except for the Native People who lived here before the arrival of Europeans, we are ALL immigrants to America. And we come from many home countries with different cultures and traditions.
Remember the idea of the melting pot? I don’t think that’s a good metaphor because we didn’t really melt together and become something different. We’re more like an amazing buffet. There are flavors for everyone. We preserve our cultures as a part of who we are, then present ourselves to the community to share in service and benefits. We benefit from each other’s gifts. Like a buffet we can enjoy and celebrate our differences AND our unity. I think our diversity is our greatest strength.
Our country is ingeniously designed to create unity and balance, starting with our Constitution. Our Founding Fathers were all white, middle aged, relatively wealthy, well-educated men. Even they struggled to agree on our Constitution. But they succeeded and the Constitution they gave us has helped our country become a beacon and a blessing to the world. It’s a document that has survived the years of growth and change in America. It begins with the Preamble:
“We the people of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.”
We are a model democracy with one person one vote for ALL Americans. Evidence and the courts have proven our elections, run by our local officials, are safe and secure. We should trust them, as we did before someone chose to benefit from destroying our confidence. Our campaigns have become loud and nasty sometimes. And we can’t believe everything we hear because it’s not always the truth. We need to make sure we are truly informed voters. But, as you already know, the demonizing of the other side is not only wrong, it is not helpful to our ongoing efforts at becoming “a more perfect union”. When the election is over and the people have spoken, it’s time for the winners to get together and begin the work of moving America forward.
Our country is at a crossroads. We need both sides of our ideological spectrum to become the best America we can be. We need to carefully consider which road we want to take and vote accordingly: a road toward a smaller exclusive country – a private dinner – or a boisterous buffet. I say bring on the BANQUET. The more the merrier.
Sincerely,
/s/Laurie Engen
Laurie Engen
