We seem to have made a real mess of ourselves.

The images of our country as a strong and unified nation seem like a distant mirage as we battle a deadly novel coronavirus while also combatting an even deadlier enemy–US, divided.

One ultimately will meet its demise when science advances a vaccine to destroy its ability to spread the contagion while the other will meet its fate only when our souls are laid bare and love for one another triumphs.

I’m not naïve enough to think that any one of us singularly can solve this problem, and frankly, we probably won’t achieve this utopia until we reach the gates of heaven.

But the current strife does call us to accept the incumbent responsibility to be kind, compassionate, accepting leaders — positive role models who embody love for humanity, decency and respect for every person and demonstrate a commitment to eradicate inequities and racism, once and for all.

The writers of the Declaration of Independence asserted that the unalienable rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness belong to each and every one of us, not just some of us. 

Thomas Jefferson wrote: “We must educate and inform the whole mass of the people… They are the only sure reliance for the preservation of our liberty.”

The recognition that a republic “for the people and by the people” requires an educated people is imbedded in our nation’s founding documents.

However, as we’ve learned through history, our country has made a slow progression to a more inclusive definition of “we, the people.” In our nation’s early years, the famous words were hollow, ignorant at best and egregious at worst, considering that the eloquent Jefferson who penned the phrase was himself the owner of slaves. It would take amendments and court decisions to arrive at a more inclusive but still imperfect union.

Education and opportunity are imperative if we are to achieve these rights for all and produce an enlightened public that values justice, respect and trust that optimizes human potential, not destroys it. 

We, individually and collectively as members of our community, are the only ones who ultimately can leverage our energies and broaden our understandings to create an environment in which people from all walks of life can live together harmoniously. When we open the portal to envisioning what can be, and what we know what should be, that is when transformation can begin.

This is a generational moment and a chance for true transformation if we embrace it. It will require courageous conversations, profound recognition of our own iniquities, and resolute determination to live out the words we speak when pledging allegiance to our flag, our country and to each other:

We are “one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”

Jennifer Vigne is president of the Education Foundation of Sarasota County.