What does it mean to believe in America while acknowledging its failures? Marking a year of weekly essays in October 2023, I return to the reasons I began I Believe: equal opportunity, inherent rights, and constitutional self-government. The country's injustices belong in that account alongside the people who have overcome difficult beginnings.
I argue that celebrating exceptional success is not enough. Education, healthcare, economic opportunity, and justice must make a better life possible for more people. Drawing on Madison's discussion of factions, I also consider why protecting liberty means accepting disagreement. A constitutional republic must protect people whose views differ from the majority's. Belief in America carries a responsibility to improve its institutions and defend the freedom of people who disagree with us.
Read the essay and sources: https://joelkdouglas.com/2023/10/17/america/
