A voice from history

It is probably safe to say that all people grow up listening to stories. Our songs and stories teach us about the things that U.S. people hold dear - unity, freedom, human dignity, opportunity to advance.

Our "BeforeTimes" tales show us how years of incredible struggle, thoughtful concentration, toil, sacrifice and cooperation finally came together to produce a whole new country and a new method for people to be involved in their own government.

George Washington was involved in all the phases of the formation of this American nation. He was a 20-year-old surveyor in the eastern wilderness who became a landowner who became a military leader and eventually President. And after all the hard years, near his death, he said, "The only thing that can harm us now is dis-union."

Disunion. What a prophetic word. How much "disunion" do we have now? The extreme fractionalizations we are often shown on television and other media did not even exist or were so much weaker prior to the 2016 election.

I do not want to go backward to that seemingly safer time, but I do wonder if we are so quick to accept foundational changes to our brotherhood and sisterhood as American citizens. I hope we will not be broken apart by the triple challenges of pandemic, economic uncertainty, and social realignments. But will our American dreams of liberty, equality, responsibility, and human dignity hold up? Or - will our dreams become mere "beforetimes stories" for all of our descendants?

Will our American voting practices - which are still being improved and perfected - now be ground into dust by those who prevaricate and equivocate to get ahead? As we advance toward the presidential election, let's consider those words of George Washington: "The only thing that can harm us now is dis-union."

Jean Rosen

Wheaton