Recently I had a moment to reflect on the incredible miracle known as the United States of America. I think we constantly need to remind ourselves of the fabulous blessings we enjoy as a result of living here. Very few countries on this earth have ever been blessed with so much freedom, opportunity and prosperity. I feel so grateful because I recognize that everything I have has come to me as a result of living here and being a citizen of this wonderful nation.
Some may wonder, how can I support this country after all the mistakes it has made? Is this not the country that allowed the practice of slavery? Did we not act horribly in our treatment of Native American tribes, forcing them off their land and breaking treaties with them time and time again? Is this not the country that allowed mobs to force the removal of thousands of innocent adherents to the new LDS faith in the 19th century? Is this not the country that is so eager to rid itself of all illegal aliens while at the same time enjoying all the benefits they provide?
The truth is, our intolerance against minority groups has always stunted our growth. If we've done as well as we have in spite of this fact, think of what we could do if we were able to eliminate that anger and hate of groups different from us.
If you look back on what past empires have done in this world you can draw some interesting conclusions. The ideas I present here came from a wonderful book called: Day of Empire: How Hyperpowers Rise to Global Dominance -- and How They Fall by Dr. Amy Chua. What Dr. Chua does in the book is to walk us through the rise and fall of the most successful empires. They all have a couple of things in common. They rose and reached their apex when they successfully included and tolerated differences amongst the vast peoples of their realms. Conversely they began to decline and eventually fall as a result of moving away from those principles.
Take Spain for instance. While Dr. Chua admits that Spain was never a hyperpower, they perhaps could have been had they not decimated their own strength when they sought to exclude all Jews and Muslims from their society. They did this via the abominable Spanish Inquisition. Spain never reached its potential as an empire because of its extreme intolerance for anyone not professing belief in the Roman Catholic Church. They killed the innate talent of those groups on which they depended and thus denied themselves of the benefits that they undeniably brought to the table.
The Roman Empire, a true hyperpower, succeeded for many centuries because they offered citizenship to all conquered peoples thus incorporating the talents of individuals of many diverse groups. Conquered peoples actually began to have more of a stake in their own realities after being conquered by Rome than they had enjoyed under their previous governments. The empire began to decline when it moved away from this model. Rome began to form its own special Roman club that no one else was allowed to join. This attitude led to their eventual overthrow by the Goths. The disenfranchised eventually had enough and they revolted.
Prejudice also stymied the United Kingdom. India for example was loving being part of the British Empire until they realized that no matter how they served, they were ever to be loathed by the British for their brown skin and different religion.
This cycle has repeated itself many times over the centuries. The Macedonian, the Mongolian, the Ottoman, the Byzantine, and the Ming Dynasty in China all rose and fell because of what we are discussing here.
The United States although not an empire in the same vein as those mentioned, nevertheless has been a hyperpower since the fall of the Soviet Union. We have continued to capitalize on the talent and ability of a country full of immigrants and diverse peoples. We have done this in spite of the overwhelming prejudice of many individual Americans. I think this success has to do with our constitution being written the way it is. I believe that it is an inspired document. I also think that although prejudice exists, there are still more people here who want to do the right thing than those who want continue in blind prejudice and hatred. Many things that were wrong here have been righted. Slavery no longer exists as an institution and the civil rights movement was a tremendous success. The government has done just about everything it can do to erradicate discrimination in the work place and some can argue that the government is now doing too much, citing the evils of political correctness and racial quotas. I'm sure that these individuals have some merit in their arguments but no one can deny the the progress that has been made in the United States on the issue of tolerance and the outlawing of discrimination based on race, color, creed, or religion. Thank goodness that the country has continued in a positive direction in this regard instead of embracing the racial superiority model espoused at the end of the great Ming Dynasty in China or the horrific abomination of Nazi Germany.
How much longer can we continue to prosper? I hope indefinitely. I think there is still much work to be done in helping our brothers and sisters, our fellow Americans, to give up prejudice and intolerance in their hearts where it resides the deepest. I think we can also still work to erradicate those feelings from our own hearts. We must admit that many of us were raised to think and feel that way, but we must reject that and hold to the good. Remember this scripture in the Book of Mormon, 2 Nephi 26: 33
For none of these iniquities come of the Lord; for he doeth that which is good among the children of men; and he doeth nothing save it be plain unto the children of men; and he ainviteth them ball to ccome unto him and partake of his goodness; and he ddenieth none that come unto him, black and white, ebond and free, male and female; and he remembereth the fheathen; and all are alike unto God, both Jew and Gentile.
What a beautiful truth is presented here. "All are alike unto God, both Jew and Gentile." Can't it be so for us as well? I hope so, because if we can't overcome this part of ourselves, how can we expect to live with Heavenly Father again? He is no respecter of persons and invites all to come unto him. Can we do the same?
In conclusion, if someone were to ask my advice, this is what I would recommend regarding our treatment of our fellow human beings: Next time we feel ourselves getting riled up inside when we see a person with brown skin working on a home in our subdivision, or see a black child in our daughter's class, or we see those Asian kids speaking in a language we can't understand, let's stop for a moment and enjoy. Let's permit ourselves to love them, appreciate them. They are children of God just like we are and remember that he loves them. They are our brothers and sisters. They come from beautiful cultures and they have endless possibilities, just like we do. We may even want to greet them and be friendly to them. We may even want to learn from them.
I think that if the majority of us embrace these ideas, our country will continue to grow and prosper and we will also help prepare this country for its ultimate destiny, the establishment of true Zion. I don't know about you but I'm for that. Let's join together with our diverse heritage and remember who we are, true brothers and sisters of a loving Heavenly Father.
1 comment:
AMEN
Post a Comment