With Liberty and Justice for All?

‘A Politicial View’ By Sherry Holliman

Many people find it tempting to mock the pledge, to devalue the warranty, and to be upset by those who urge people that have experienced and are currently facing inequalities to forget the past. Some people say these words proudly… “With Liberty and Justice for all.” Who is for all? Liberty and justice for all! If liberty and justice exist why are so many people dealing with equalities in today’s time?

Why are there groups and organizations formed to fight issues such as racism, mass incarcerations, gender oppressions, and age discrimination? Equal means the same.

So, what is being said when people make this statement? What qualifies a person to be the same?

These words are used to represent the concept that every American is free and not to be “deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law,” as indicated in our Bill of Rights. However, if we are going to continue to recite the pledge of allegiance Americans must continue to change.

Is the for all “for all your people, that equal your acceptance? Are these the people that look like you, believe like you, dress like you, fight like you, or belong to your social class? The challenges for all Americans are the preferences of liberty and justice for all is not in the nation’s best interest, that this is a preference for some to mean a loss of liberty and justice and the pursuit of happiness for others. Until society can face the challenges of getting equality there will never be Liberty and Justice for All.

As a nation, we still have far to go in terms of liberty and justice for all, this nation should be progressively moving forward with remembering great leaders such as Martin Luther King, Jr. who said, “I say to you that our goal is freedom, and I believe we are going to get there because however much she strays away from it, the goal of America is freedom.”

President Lyndon Johnson explained affirmative action to the nation, he said, “You can’t bring a man to the starting line who has been hobbled by chains and expect him to run the race competitively.”

If anyone is discriminated against because of his or her color, they have a right to be angry and we should all share that anger, not belittle or justify it. The lack of liberty and justice plants seeds of division that are planted not by those who fight to eliminate racial and ethnic preferences; they are planted by those who believe that our skin color and gender should separate us.

Change just doesn’t happen. It is up to us as Americans to continue to push for equality. Is it wrong for to think that the Pledge of Allegiance obligates us to believe and act differently based upon your belief that the pursuit of liberty and justice for all is for your preferred race, groups, religion, and classes? Is it too much to say and believe that one person can make a difference? Understand your pledge before you recite it.

“I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”

Sherry Holliman is a concerned citizen of Crittenden County and has some views on a variety of topics that she wants to share with her neighbors. She serves on the Marion City Council.