Have you ever written something profound only to have it be deleted forever? This morning, before heading to the beach, I was responding in a fairly long LinkedIn thread. The original commenter accidentally deleted their statement, and all the following comments were cascaded into oblivion. Ok, maybe mine was not exceptionally profound, but I still liked it, so I will recreate from memory.
My virtual friend stated that the values of America of 70 years ago made America great. But those values are gone today. My response… Freedom and Tolerance are most important.
Freedom… in all its forms… economic, social, political, religious. Even such a basic economic freedom of the right to own property, and thus have a permanent address, have a profound impact and are missing in many countries. Sometimes our freedoms are mis-used by Americans, with temporarily messy results. But we eventually get it right. As Winston Churchill never actually said, “You can always count on Americans to do the right thing – after they’ve tried everything else.”
Tolerance… is built into the constitution… minority views, and minorities are protected. While it is not a walk in the park for young black males today, it is better than it was 70 years ago. And definitely better than 170 years ago. It will continue to improve in the future (at a too slow rate). While Tolerance is attacked by the left and right, the vast majority of Americans support and celebrate tolerance.
The exercise of Freedom and Tolerance can make American values look weak at times. But they are critical to our success.
Meanwhile… back on the beach.