Unfinished truths | Sam Forstag

The Declaration of Independence became a model for democracy the world over, as the United States proved that a society governed by the people can flourish. Each subsequent generation of Americans has worked to move us closer to the ideals outlined in that remarkable document.

But progress never happens in a straight line. It’s realized in fits and starts, and often the greatest victories are wrested from moments of deep darkness. Women won the right to vote in the aftermath of World War I. America enshrined our wilderness as forever protected even as mid-century industrialists pushed to dam the Colorado River and clearcut our national forests. The Civil Rights Act passed several months after JFK’s assassination.

Montanans have always been at the center of the struggle to push our country forward: Jeannette Rankin became the first American woman elected to Congress in 1916, four years before the ratification of the 19th Amendment. Lee Metcalf championed the Wilderness Act, which today safeguards over 100 million acres of America’s public land. Mike Mansfield, as Senate Majority Leader, played a vital role in passing the Civil Rights Act, even in the face of enormous backlash.

The 19th Amendment, the Wilderness Act, the Civil Rights Act: each of these achievements represents another step toward the unrealized society outlined in 1776. Whenever I read America’s founding documents, I’m always struck by how aspirational they remain. What would our nation look like if our leaders took seriously the truth that we are all created equal, or that each citizen has an intrinsic right to the pursuit of happiness? Looking around America today, it’s easy to feel a sense of hopelessness at how far we are from the society envisioned in our Declaration of Independence.

Yet we are much, much closer than we were in 1776. Or 1876, or even 1976. Politicians and political pundits might thrive on our division, but after traveling all across Montana and talking to thousands of people from both parties, I can tell you: we agree on so much more than we disagree on.

We agree that we’re exhausted by the anger that’s defined our politics in recent years. We agree that most of those in power do not represent us and are instead the puppets of the ultra-rich and private corporations. And just like in 1776, we agree that it’s time for the people to take our democracy back from the grifters who’ve sunk their claws into our government.

If the past tells us anything, it’s that Americans will never stop fighting for the country described in our Declaration of Independence. So today, let’s celebrate that history. Then let’s get to work building the future we deserve.