The novel and daring American freedoms we take for granted

A quick look at the headlines and social media shows we are taking it all for granted.

While doing some research and reading, I stumbled across a quote from eminent historian David McCullough that gave me pause. “Sadly, too many today take for granted public schools, freedom of religion, freedom of speech, equality before the law, forgetting that these were ever novel and daring ideas. Once.”

The politics of the moment is a constant exercise in placing and deflecting blame. This eternal thrust and parry of every news item, current event, election, and issue is the wave machine that keeps the news cycle churning.

Blame is a powerful thing. Blame is powerful enough to swing elections, change the direction of careers and countries, to affect history and legacy. The powerful, and wannabe powerful, spend a great deal of time and effort on blame and not being the object thereof.

Funny how you never hear a politician or content creator blaming good, old-fashioned complacency for too much. Not enough of a Big Bad for the algorithms to really get trending, probably. But the evidence all around us in America is that we have taken much for granted.