Democracy for All

The musical, Hamilton, used rap songs to illustrate how history retells relevant ideas, such as the importance of being in the room where political decisions are made and the enduring influence wielded by the one who tells the story of what happened in the past.

     Those who live in countries, where they enjoy basic human rights, often need a reminder that conflicts between values: freedom and equality, unity and diversity, private wealth and common wealth, and law and ethics, frequently require reevaluation. In authoritarian countries, citizens need to discover the paths taken to achieve human rights for all.

     Without a Bill of Rights, citizens are condemned to perpetual 1984-type fear. TIME magazine (Nov. 13, 2017) reports how China currently uses a "social credit system" to keep track of every citizen's "financial data, social connections, consumption habits and respect for the law." Deviate from what is acceptable to the regime, and lose a promotion, your right to travel, and your children's futures, and you could end up in prison. You also have to worry about how a personal enemy might use a cyberattack to compromise your activities and alter your social credit score. 

     What is democracy's alternative? From Colonial Williamsburg, the Virginia village John D. Rockefeller, Jr. restored to show the origin of the United States, comes a concise, 168-page book, The Idea of America, that relies on primary documents, such as the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution, to recount relevant ideas. The book illustrates how early U.S. values have expanded to be more inclusive and how citizens can find guidance to resolve current issues by studying historic documents and values.

     Jeffrey Edleson, dean of the School of Social Welfare at the University of California, Berkeley, said The Idea of America was "a must-read for anyone who cares about the future of American society." That's too limiting. The Idea of America is food for thought for everyone looking for a worldview that could make life better for all human beings. The book is available at shop.colonialwilliamsburg.com.