Yesterday, as many of you know, was Constitution Day, and the president issued a proclamation filled all the predictable pieties. With this president, however, more than most, I believe it is reasonable to ask if he really believes them.
We are united, he proclaimed, “by our fidelity to a set of tenets” and “we are united by our convictions and our unalienable rights.” And:
Our Constitution reflects the values we cherish as a people and the ideals we strive for as a society. It secures the privileges we enjoy as citizens, but also demands participation, responsibility, and service to our country and to one another. As we celebrate our Nation’s strong and durable framework, we are reminded that our work is never truly done. Let us renew our commitment to these sacred principles and resolve to advance their spirit in our time.
Take a close look at the terms above that I have emphasized and ask yourself one question: is the widely shared, almost universal belief that every American should be treated by the state “without regard to race, creed, or color” one of the tenets, convictions, values, ideals, sacred principles that the president believes “our Constitution enshrined”?
If that belief is not one of our enshrined tenets, convictions, values, ideals, sacred principles, what is?
If it is, why do the president and his party so vehemently insist on distributing burdens and benefits based on race and ethnicity?
