Photograph by Nathaniel St. Clair

Ronald Reagan used the “Shining City on a Hill” as a metaphor for the United States as a beacon for freedom and democracy in the world. Joe Biden often spoke of the soul of America being under threat, that our belief in fairness and unalienable rights had at times fallen short, but until now had never been in doubt.

Are we still the shining city, and is America’s soul still intact? Two personal stories shed some light on this.

1. The Florence-Lauderdale County Alabama Public Library.

Thanks to a generous donation from the grandfather of one of my closest childhood friends, Florence, Alabama, was able to build a new, concrete library in 1948. It was whites-only, of course. The W. C. Handy Library, originally the Florence Negro Library, served the black community.

In 1952 the Handy Library’s roof began leaking, damaging books. The cost of the roof repair was greater than the building was worth. In September, the Regional Library Board chair together with my friend’s father, Stanley Rosenbaum, proposed the transfer of the Handy collection to the Florence-Lauderdale Library and opening the library to all citizens. The merger was approved. On November 1, 1952, the water fountains were cut off, the bathrooms locked, and the Florence-Lauderdale Library became likely the first public facility in Alabama to be integrated.

Here is what can be said about the library after that: It was more diverse, it was a fairer and more equitable place, and it was more inclusive. Indeed, diversity, equity, and inclusiveness (DEI) are cornerstones of American democracy. It is the America we learned about in 8th grade civics, high school American History, and, if you attended, college political science.

It is proper to contest any government program that you think is not working. But if you do not believe in the concepts of diversity, equity, and inclusion, you do not believe in America. Hopefully most Americans still do, the notable exception being the Trump Administration.

2. My Assistant in the Ukrainian Ministry of Finance.

In 1997-98, I was the U.S. Treasury Department’s resident budget policy advisor to Ukraine’s Ministry of Finance in Kyiv. My assistant in the ministry was a local woman, Olena Skrypka, who helped me function in a multi-lingual, technical, and sometimes political environment. Olena is now a refugee in England. My wife and I have stayed in touch with her over the years. It is a sad time for Ukraine, as you know.

I called her on WhatsApp the other day. I did what Americans now do with foreign friends: I apologized for my country. Olena said, “That’s okay, David, we understand that most Americans are good people. It is just that you now have a corrupt, racist, fascist president. What is sad for us is that the United States used to be the country we looked up to, one that stood for democracy in the world and helping people everywhere. Now it has become a country we can no longer respect or rely on.”

I get the same message from friends in Latvia, Hungary, France, and elsewhere. America has lost its respect in the world. That perhaps ten million people will die by 2030, the majority children, from the Trump Administration’s precipitous closure of USAID, is just one example why. Are we still Reagan’s “Shining City on a Hill.” Not now.

Can we reclaim the America that is slipping away? A democracy with a soul, reflecting decency, humanity, and competence. A country that again deserves the respect of the world. On March 28th over eight million Americans said they are willing to try.

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