#BTColumn – Out of many, one

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by this author are their own and do not represent the official position of the Barbados Today Inc.

by Guy Hewitt

The Fourth of July, Independence Day, is a significant holiday. Many love the parades, the barbeques, fireworks and the many concerts.

It provides an opportunity to take stock of progress in the “land of the free and home of the brave.”

For non-Americans, the thing best known of the US isn’t the presidents, or celebrities like Frank Sinatra or Michael Jackson or sportspersons like Michael Jordan or Tiger Woods or pioneers like Bill Gates or Steve Jobs or brands like
Coca-Cola or McDonalds or sites like the Statue of Liberty or Empire State building.

America’s best-known symbol is the ‘greenback’; the US dollar.

The importance of the US dollar is not just that the US economy is the world’s largest economy but that the US dollar is the most-used currency in the world. The bulk of global trade is done in US currency.

The relevance of this mention is that “In God We Trust” the official motto of the United States appears on all paper currency. It is noteworthy that E pluribus unum “Out of many, one” was the de facto motto until “In God We Trust” was adopted in 1956.

I put my trust in the God as depicted in 1 John 4:16 “God is love, and those who live in love live in God, and God lives in them.”

George Washington held that “The United States of America should have a foundation free from the influence
of clergy.”

This paved the way for the First Amendment on the separation of Church and State which reads: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof…”

Notwithstanding this separation, tenets of faith have informed much of the development of laws and practices.

The Declaration of Independence speaks to “truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

Notwithstanding the words, the reality was vastly different. Those without property, female or non-white were not conferred these inalienable rights; the struggle for equality continues to this day.

Notwithstanding the challenges, this has been a momentous time to be in the US. More has happened with civil rights in the last two years than probably in the lasttwo decades.

Unfortunately, this has come at the exorbitant price of the loss of innocent lives like George Floyd Jr. and many other Black Americans who died needlessly at the hands of a systemically racist police and justice system.

Last year for 4 July, I opined that “this is a unique moment… that America is at an inflection point in her journey towards equality for all, endowing African Americans with those “unalienable rights” of “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”

I noted last year that, “amidst the rallies and all the protests following the killing of George Floyd Jr., considerable progress is being made on racial justice and the construction of ‘a more perfect Union.’”

On 17 June 2021, President Joe Biden signed the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act into law. At the signing Vice President Kamala Harris noted, “We are gathered here, in a house built by enslaved people… footsteps away from where President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation…”

At a time when Republicans and Democrats agree on virtually nothing, they came together to vote near unanimously in favour of making Juneteenth, African American Freedom Day, a federal holiday.

Previous attempts including in 2020 to pass a Juneteenth bill were unsuccessful.  What changed? In two words I’d say that it was George Floyd.

In his last communication to the US people written shortly before his death on 17 July 2020, civil rights leader and Congressman John Lewis said this: “While my time here has come to an end, I want you to know that in the last days of my life you inspired me.

You filled me with hope about the next chapter of the great American story when you used your power to make a difference in our society.

Millions of people motivated simply by human compassion laid down the burdens of division. You set aside race, class, age, language and nationality to demand respect for human dignity.”

I end with the reassuring quote from The Rev Dr Martin Luther King Jr. on the power of love, “I refuse to accept the view that mankind is so tragically bound to the starless midnight of racism and war that the bright daybreak of peace and brotherhood can never become a reality….

“I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word.” His faith resonates with me, as does with the US motto “In God We Trust.”

May we here and everywhere be united in love and out of many truly become one people. Let freedom ring.

Guy Hewitt is a candidate for President of the DLP. He currently lives and works between Barbados and Florida and can be contacted at guyhewitt@gmail.com