July Column Winner

America: Still seeking a more perfect union

By Jeff Mullin, Enid News & Eagle

Do you love America?

Of course you do. It’s July Fourth weekend, leading up to the 247th birthday of these United States on Tuesday.

Why you’ve probably already got the barbecue ready, got your fireworks bought and have stocked up on red, white and blue duds to wear to your Independence Day party.

Besides, we live in what must be the most patriotic state in the nation, right?

Well, no actually. According to WalletHub, Virginia is the most patriotic state in America, followed by Montana, Alaska, North Dakota and Maine. Oklahoma, in fact, is ranked 26th. The least patriotic state, according to the poll, is our neighbor to the east, Arkansas.

WalletHub ranked the states in terms of military and civic engagement. Under military engagement states were rated according to criteria such as the number of military enlistees and veterans per 1,000 adults.

Oklahoma was No. 8 in that category but fell to 37th place in the second, which is civic involvement. That included criteria such as the share of adults who voted in the 2020 presidential election, the number of adults who volunteer on a regular basis and the share of residents who belong to civic organizations.

This study seems to indicate there is more to loving America than hanging a flag out on your front porch.

There is much to love about America, but sometimes it is not so easy to like it.

In America we are free to live where we choose, but housing discrimination is still happening, despite our laws against it. Now there are fears artificial intelligence will make it easier for landlords to screen their clients, denying some potential renters housing based on incorrect or outdated information.

A 75-year-old man in California was not allowed to move into a senior living facility because a screening program that reportedly used AI flagged him as a “higher-risk renter,” because of a past conviction in Texas for littering. The man had never been convicted for littering and had never lived in Texas. The actual miscreant turned out to be a 33-year-old man with the same name. 

In America we are free to work where we want. But a survey by Glassdoor Economic Research found that 61% of U.S. employees say they have experienced or witnessed discrimination based on age, race, gender or sexual orientation.

The Williams Institute with the UCLA School of Law found that 45.5% of LGBTQ+ workers have been treated unfairly at work. According to a Gallup Poll, 24% of black and Hispanic employees have been discriminated against at work.

In America we are free to worship how we choose. But Oklahoma’s state school superintendent recently called for a copy of the 10 Commandments to be displayed in every classroom in the state. Which would be fine if every student and every teacher were Christian or Jewish, but they aren’t. Some practice a different religion, or no religion at all.

When you think about it this makes as much sense as requiring churches, synagogues and mosques to display copies of the periodic table of the elements.

In America we are free to get an education. But in some places it used to be forbidden to study the theory of evolution and the big-bang theory. Now it seems some want to prevent pupils from studying about America’s generally inspiring but undoubtedly troubled history, especially the part about people of color being bought and sold like furniture.

Unfortunately it happened, just as the misery to native peoples caused by the country’s western expansion happened, just as Jim Crow happened and just as the forced internment of loyal Japanese Americans during World War II happened.

Uncomfortable subjects, to be sure. But they happened, and no amount of trying to bury our heads in the sand will change the facts.

The American experiment remains just that: an experiment, a work in progress. In the preamble to the Constitution the founders included the phrase “a more perfect union.” They didn’t say the new nation was going to be perfect. They knew better than that. They knew there would be missteps along the way. They already had failed to tackle the issue of slavery, instead kicking that can down the road until the next century.

Is America perfect? Hardly. We have and will continue to make mistakes as we march resolutely into the future. But just as the framers envisioned, we continue to seek a “more perfect union,” a nation that is flawed but, nonetheless, the envy of the free world and a thorn in the side of those who favor totalitarianism.

Happy birthday, Old Girl. You may not be perfect, but you are still pretty great.