Out of Left Field: American amnesia on wedge issues

Michael Dinnocenzo

The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.”

Martin Luther King Jr. repeated that statement during visits to Great Neck and Roslyn guided by his Long Island friend and SCLC board member, the late Harry H. Wachtel.  Dr. King was highlighting a key aspect of “American Exceptionalism” — one that deserves continuing celebration.

The men and women who launched our nation with the “Spirit of ’76,” frequently averred “that all posterity will be affected by what we do.” Thomas Paine wrote in Common Sense, “We have it in our power to begin the world anew.”

It is no accident that Abraham Lincoln celebrated Thomas Jefferson and the Declaration of Independence.  Instead of beginning “The Gettysburg Address” of 1863 with the phrase “3 Score and 16 years ago,” (back to 1787), Lincoln carefully chose “4 score and 7” (back to 1776).

Both 1787 (Constitutional Convention) and 1776 (Declaration of Independence) are founding dates for our nation.  

Lincoln was an attorney who understood that the U.S. must be a government of laws (fundamental in constitutions, and statutory by legislative bodies), but he was deeply committed to celebrating and expanding the spirit and reality of inclusion.

Lincoln regarded Jefferson’s Declaration as “a beacon,” a guide for all future conduct, that while we may not quickly reach all of its goals, it is our continuing obligation to keep moving in Jefferson’s exalted direction. 

A distinctive person in such endeavors was 19th century leader Theodore Parker, a Unitarian minister and abolitionist.  

Parker was part of what scholars depict as “Protest Nation,” a celebration of critics who rely on the Declaration and the First Amendment to keep improving American society and to offer a model to the world for freedom, equality and justice.

Parker, an early source for King’s views, received deserved attention when the quote that begins this column was woven into a new rug in the White House Oval Office. 

Barack Obama had selected it to reflect values of his presidency.

Last Friday, the Obama administration took another step toward justice and inclusion that should remind us of lessons from Jefferson and Lincoln as we encounter “wedge issues.”  

The Obama Justice Department’s directive stipulated that transitioning students be treated consistent with their own gender identity.  

In our huge, numerous and diverse nation, we always have folks who hold different views and values; the challenge of our pluralistic society is how to make diversity an asset, not a liability.

 Jefferson and Lincoln never had to consider transgender matters as a wedge issue. But their principles are manifested in Dr. King’s two signature achievements (the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Voting Rights of 1965) — that all Americans should be treated fairly, with dignity, and with equality under the law.

 During this theater season triumph of “Hamilton,” some folks have lost sight of what made Jefferson, in Tocqueville’s judgment, the most powerful advocate that democracy has ever had.

Garry Wills celebrates Jefferson’s too often neglected radicalism. 

Consider four key words that appear in Jefferson’s Declaration; they are a revision of John Locke’s words, when he wrote of the rights to “Life, Liberty and Property.”  

So, why did Jefferson substitute four words for “Property,” giving us: “Life, Liberty and The Pursuit of Happiness?”

Over time, Jefferson’s words have been erroneously viewed (often without recognizing his key goals).  They have been seen as seeking the American Dream of advancement and success, and they have been viewed as primarily a reflection of Individual Self-reliance.

In the 18th century, the word “Pursuit” had a particular meaning (one that continued for some time later) — as in “the pursuit of law” or the “pursuit of medicine” — reflecting not the seeking of those endeavors, but the practice of them.

For Jefferson “happiness” was not merely a matter of “seeking”- but that people had a right to BE HAPPY.  Jefferson, Franklin, Paine and others valued individualism, but they believed there was a communitarian basis for a good society and for personal happiness.  Benevolence by citizens toward each other and a government that promoted the general welfare could foster “res publica” – the public good.

Jefferson also wanted to be remembered for his statute for religious liberty (more than mere “toleration”). In our diverse society, he said one had the freedom to believe any religion or none — political democracy and citizenship were separated from any particular belief system or any religion whatsoever. 

By championing the Enlightenment commitment to reason and evidence, Jefferson (like Lincoln who opposed the anti-immigrant, xenophobic, Know Nothing movement) created space to respect diversity.

In terms of transgender actions by the Obama Justice Department several perspectives are worth noting. 

When asked Sunday at his incisive Temple Emanuel political commentary whether the Justice Department transgender mandate would be a wedge issue during the 2016 elections, Republican strategist and commentator Steve Schmidt gave a resounding “Yes.” 

He said that he was a person of empathy, but he believed the Obama administration had “overreached on this issue, that common sense on state and local levels should address it.”

I respect Steve Schmidt’s view that states can be laboratories of democracy modeling good practices for others, but, on this matter, several states (North Carolina and Texas among them), are instead showing the spirit of demagogue George Wallace, that they will battle the national government with everything in their arsenal.

These states are again reflecting situations similar to racial segregation and prejudice when they resisted the “arc of historical justice.” They are not employing the common sense that Schmidt counsels. 

Those who feel uncomfortable by transgender matters need to be reminded, as racists were, that the 14th Amendment guarantees all Americans equal protection of the law.  

Frederick Douglass deliberately gave speeches each year on July 4th to remind Americans of the principles they celebrated in history, but not so fully in practice.

Steven Schmidt is a principled conservative who does indeed show empathy — a key quality cited by Jefferson and Lincoln for appreciating others regardless of differences.  Schmidt was among the first Republicans to speak out publicly in support of marriage equality.

He explained that he respected his sister and her female partner and appreciated their value to family and society.  

Ohio Republican Sen. Rob Portman, a bit later, offered support when he learned that his son was a gay man.

Do you remember how Karl Rove orchestrated “gay marriage” fears in 11 battleground states to boost Bush’s chances for victory in 2004?  

That “Wedge Issue” now clearly seems yesterday’s news.

How many Americans will need to have transgender members of their family before they can show Jefferson’s benevolence and support for everyone’s “pursuit of happiness?”

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