The first words of President Barack Obama's Nov. 6 acceptance speech were spoken as if in direct reply to a Bob Ray Sanders article written a week before the election.
"Tonight, more than 200 years after a former colony won the right to determine its own destiny," Obama said, "the task of perfecting our union moves forward."The president summarized the same feelings in Sanders' Oct. 31 message, in which he wrote about the exhilaration he felt on the night of Obama's 2008 election to his first term. He recalled the dark corners of our history but also noted our progress in that today is a better day and that the tears and sacrifice of those who toiled before us have led to a more inclusive nation.Sanders had challenged not only the political, but also the economic wisdom of the obstructionist mentality that has arisen since the 2008 election, dividing us at a time when we sorely need cooperation and cross-fertilization of ideas.We call ourselves the "American Melting Pot," yet we have a political conundrum in that the more we change, the more we want to stay unchanged. But must we be so apprehensive about change? Why not embrace change as a challenge?In a speech at a 2009 Tea Party rally, Gov. Rick Perry let his anti-Washington rhetoric go so far as to say that secession was on the minds of many Texans, whom he called "a pretty independent lot."Questioned afterward about the remark, he responded by saying, "Who knows what might come of that."After Obama was re-elected, more than 100,000 people signed a petition for Texas to secede from the union, far more than similar petitions from other states.The governor doesn't toy with secession anymore. The benign reason might be that seceding is simply a bad idea. But given those 2009 remarks, how can the governor not be accused of demagoguery?Simple. He finally gets it. State Sen. Wendy Davis won re-election. State Rep. Marc Veasey won a new congressional district. Both are Democrats.The demographics of our city, state and nation are changing. Davis and Veasey represent the tip of the iceberg of diversity coming to Texas, and change is inevitable.It is our nature to disagree on how to accomplish almost anything, but we need to do a better job of managing disagreement and change. The "my way or the highway" mentality is a prescription for disaster that sadly seems stronger today than ever.We are facing ever-greater societal challenges that cannot be ignored. Exclusionary politics and categorizing people as either "makers" or "takers" are both counterproductive, building barriers where we should be building alliances.It is time to explore alternatives and seek ground for agreement.Moreover, the belief that certain segments of our society can only be led, can never lead, is contradicted by history. Leadership is born of necessity and springs from the unlikeliest places. The broader the pool from which we draw our leaders, the greater is the potential for profound change.When faced with an intractable dilemma, we should demand that all of our brightest be engaged in the debate.Maybe by defining what it means to be an American we can find that common ground. To me, the American ideal is an evolving collaboration bound by principles of inclusion and opportunity for all.What is your American ideal? I may not agree with you, but I'm willing to be convinced as we move forward on our task of perfecting the union.Bruce Cavin of Fort Worth is a member of the 2012 Star-Telegram Community Columnist Panel. brccav@gmail.comHave more to add? News tip? Tell us
