During Inauguration events, Elon Musk gave Trump the Nazi salute. There’s no evading the reality of what we face.
Yesterday, I participated in a rally to kick off local resistance to an administration I would once have considered unthinkable. The rally was organized by Hoosiers4Democracy, and cosponsored by ACLU Indiana, ReCenter Indiana, Common Cause Indiana, Women4Change Indiana, AAUW Indiana, and the League of Women Voters Indiana. It was enthusiastically supported by several local media organizations, including the Indiana Citizen.
The purpose of the event was to offer people an alternative to television coverage of the Inauguration, and to allow dispirited citizens an opportunity to interact with other Hoosiers who share their determination to protect the America we love and support from the coming fascist onslaughts, both state and national.
I had hoped that a hundred or so determined souls would turn out, but approximately 500 people filled the sanctuary at Indianapolis’ Broadway United Methodist Church (even the Mayor attended). There was wonderful, uplifting music. There were inspiring speeches. There was a feeling of community and resolve. It was great.
I was honored to deliver a few preliminary remarks. I’m sharing them below. (And speaking of sharing, if anyone reading this was in attendance, I’d welcome your reactions.)
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America’s original motto was e pluribus unum: out of the many, one. It’s a motto many of us embrace, but it also raises a question that Doctor King addressed: what is the nature of unity in a radically diverse society? What defines the community we aspire to join? How do dramatically different people live peacefully and productively together? How do we build an overarching community that welcomes everyone while still honoring and respecting our differences?
I think the answer lies in what has been called America’s “civic religion”—our allegiance to the overarching principles embodied in America’s constituent documents—values that are absolutely central to what I call the American Idea. Those values are what motivate the cosponsors of this event, and numerous other organizations—like the aptly named “Indiana Citizen”—that are now preparing to defend them. Those values will be under attack by an administration that one pundit has described as “an affront to the very idea of America.”
In 2004, I wrote a column in which I listed what I saw as the values that define us as Americans– principles that infuse the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights and that are absolutely central to the America most of us inhabit. We are here today to honor and reclaim those principles and values, at a time when too many voters and political figures have abandoned them.
What are they? What do “real” Americans believe?
Americans believe in justice and civil liberties—in equal treatment and fair play for all citizens, whether or not we agree with them or like them or approve of their life choices.
We believe that no one is above the law—and that includes those who run our government.
We believe that dissent can be the highest form of patriotism. Mark Twain once wrote that patriots always support their country– and support their government when it deserves it. People who care about America enough to speak out against policies they believe to be wrong or anti-American or corrupt aren’t just exercising their rights as citizens, they are discharging a sacred civic responsibility.
We believe that “wedge issues”– playing to people’s fears and prejudices and marginalizing or demonizing any minority in the pursuit of political advantage– is un-American and immoral.
We believe passionately in what one pundit has called “critical intelligence, tolerance, respect for evidence, and a regard for science.”
We believe, to use the language of the nation’s Founders, in “a decent respect for the opinions of mankind” (even non-American mankind).
We believe in the true heartland of this country, which is anywhere where people struggle to provide for their families, dig deep into their pockets to help the less fortunate, and understand their religions to require goodwill and loving kindness rather than cruelty, nastiness or cultural dominance.
And we really do believe that the way you play the game is more important, in the end, than whether you win or lose. If the Bill of Rights stands for anything, it stands for the proposition that the ends don’t justify the means.
Today we honor Martin Luther King, who reminded us that—despite the fact that we have too often failed to live up to those aspirations—it is fidelity to those values that REALLY makes America great.
Those of us who are here today intend to reclaim those values and rededicate ourselves to their realization. We are here to pledge our efforts to rebuild an America that works to embody and protect the American Idea. And we are also here to send a message to those who ignore and dishonor the American Idea: we will resist your assaults with every fiber of our beings.
Thank you all for coming to pledge allegiance to the American Idea on this cold January day, and please help me welcome the wonderful clergy who are joining us today: Quaker Pastor Phil Gulley; Rabbi Aaron Spiegel; and Reverend David Greene.
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