Supposedly, as a Nation, we value a democratic society where everyone has the same legal rights and responsibilities. Ideally, everyone can live together peacefully in spite of their different nationalities, religious beliefs, and ethnic background. However, that belief was not thought through at the founding of our Nation.
Originally, only white, male, land owners were allowed to participate in this democracy. The developers of our Government were united in what they did not want. They did not want any more kings, princes, dukes or royalty of any kind; nor did they want a State religion. They were seeking to avoid oppression of any kind.
Left out of their founding documents was any protection of rights for
1. the Native people, who were thought of as savages
2. black people, who were slaves
3. women.
Eventually, slavery was abolished; Native peoples were accepted as human beings; woman secured the right to vote.
We have evolved as a Country. Our Declaration of Independence states, “We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by the Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.” Reaching this goal has been a long, hard struggle. We are not there yet!
I have seen a great deal of this struggle ,and I have been a part of it. I remember President Harry S. Truman signing Executive Order 998, in July of 1948, requiring the U. S. Military to integrate its forces–ending 170 years of segregation. It took real courage to do that, knowing that he faced an election, and he just infuriated the Southern Democrats. Seven years later, I served in that military. Serving in the 11th Airborne Division, I was stationed at Will Kaserne in Munich, Germany. Promoted to Sp. 3, I got to move in a room for non-com officers. My roommate was Corporal Martin, a black soldier. Never had I ever had a better roommate. Our black soldiers performed admirably. President Truman did the right thing; he also won the election.
While still in the Army in Germany, I read about President Dwight D. Eisenhower sending the 101st Airborne Division to desegregate the High Schools in Little Rock, Arkansas, around the first of September, 1957. I wondered what our black comrades in arms thought about this sad state of affairs. President Eisenhower made the right decision, in spite of the blowback he got from Southerners and elements of his own party.
A month later we were aroused at 3:00 a. m. and told to draw our weapons. We were to make a combat drop on Budapest to help the Hungarian freedom fighters. I had to jump with a 3.5 inch diameter rocket launcher. Our plane, a huge, C-119, roared down the runway for this surprise attack. Suddenly it slowed and then came to a stop. Then an announcement came: President Eisenhower called the military intervention off. Thank God, another right decision! We didn’t need World War III.
Out of the Army and going to college on the Korean G. I. Bill, I majored in Sociology under Fr. William “Bill” O’Conner. A good portion of our work was fighting segregation and supporting workers’ rights. Walter Reuther, President of the United Automobile Workers, and Charles Tony, a local black barber were our heroes. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was our inspiration.
While working for the Illinois Department of Labor, I was able to place blacks in jobs around the Quad-Cities, where they had never been hired before. I interviewed a black man who had a lot of experience selling shoes. He was “a perfect fit” for the opening I had at Sears Roebuck and Co. Their HR hired him, but read the riot act to me, for sending them a black applicant. She also called the Chief of downstate operations to complain. My boss called me into his office to tell me what had transpired. He also told me that I had done then right thing, but I had been black-balled for promotion.
Fighting for women’s rights has also been a tough struggle. I was the only male member of the Illinois Commission on the Status of Women. Patriarchy has been as hard to crack as the institution of slavery. At a meeting in Chicago, IL, Phyllis Schlafly, the leader of the Eagle Forum, (a right-wing group) accused the Commission of being a sexist organization, because no male members had been appointed. Senator Susan Catania, our Chairperson, smiled sweetly and pointed her gavel at me as she announced, “We have our token male, Dr. Donart.”
The United States is not a perfect Nation. We are a struggling Nation. The battle for our ideals as expressed in our Declaration of Independence continues. As a Catholic Christian, I believe we are all God’s children. Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness belong to us all.