No person better than any other

Izzak Novak, of Hillsborough
    I want to start this letter by stating that I love this country.
   I was born in America’s Heartland in the great state of Iowa. My paternal grandfather worked in my maternal great-grandfather’s store as a young man in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
   I live a mere 20 miles from the grave of an ancestor buried in the 1700s. I have ancestors who were Americans of German, Irish, Czech, French, British, Scottish and even African American descent, among other things.
   My parents went from living in a trailer home to a beautiful four-bedroom home through hard work and dedication.
   In many ways, my story is just about as “American” as one can get. Yet, as the Fourth of July passes, I am filled with sorrow, pain, worry and, yes, even disappointment.
   I look at the state of affairs and struggle with how I should feel about the country my family has called home for centuries. I see a country where the mere fact that someone is human is not enough to elicit compassion.
   I am ashamed that millions of children and adults lack adequate education, health care and food. I am overcome with fear that prosperity should take precedence over quality of life.
   I am baffled by our preference for defense spending over social — here comes a four-letter word — welfare programs.
   I say none of this to be critical; I simply say it out of concern. I don’t know what, if anything at all, will come of this plea.
   One thing I do know is that we, every single one of us, can and should strive to be better. So if I can suggest one thing, it is to not merely celebrate what is great about the U.S., but to spend every waking moment remembering that we need to and can be better.
   We must think of ourselves first as humans, humans that signed a social contract through being born to take care of one another. Our differences make us persons, but that which we share makes us humans.
   I will close this by invoking my deepest spiritual conviction as a proud Quaker — that every person has the light of the divine in him. From the homeless drug addict to the great leader of this country, no man is better than any other.
   This may be the greatest thing anyone can come to know.