Together
we own land in a vast swath of North America. We represent every nationality,
creed and race of this world and we unite under the central idea that “We, the
people” can form a more perfect union. We strive for the idea that we are all
created equal and we work, sometimes fight, to establish that equality. Oh,
yes, we fail miserably, we lose faith and yet we continue to strive for
equality and a more perfect union.
Federalism
allows us to have red states and blue states with blue blooded Americans in red
states and red blooded Americans in blue states. Federalism allows people in
Idaho to hunt and fish and hike and enjoy huge swaths of rugged roadless areas
in the northern Rockies, yet representatives of all fifty states were allowed
to decide whether or not those roadless areas would be established as
wilderness areas where no motors are allowed thereby allowing people from New
York City the right to go there if they so choose. And yes, sometimes those
rights rankle us to the boiling point when the federal government gets to make
decisions that completely go against the local sensibilities. We have seen that
with grazing rights on bird refuges in Oregon, oil drilling in Alaska and
nowhere more strongly and divisively than Fort Sumter in South Carolina at the
outset of the American Civil War. But here we are, continuing to bicker and
promote interests that are sometimes far from our goals of equality. This
imperfect way to strive for a more perfect union is something I love, something
I am so proud of, something that continues to frustrate me, yet give me faith
in humanity. I love the diversity of this country and I love its established
presence in our federal system of forming a more perfect union.
