The founding principles of the US were based on Classical Liberalism: The idea that all individuals should be allowed equal status under the law, with equal rights, rather than rights based upon membership of a caste, which is what used to happen. From this came the impetus to abolish slavery and give everyone the vote, etc. It was a long fight, but it was in line with the founding philosophies of the nation.
Liberalism had the same fight in Europe, where it was a much more alien concept.
Classical Liberalism wanted to abolish the feudal boundaries of antiquity and treat every citizen as an individual with inalienable rights. For this reason, George Washington was against the creation of political parties, as he felt it would divide people again into tribes (he was concerned that it would weaken American politics and leave it open to manipulation from outside powers like Britain or the Pope). He didn't get his wish, and now parties are common in democratic polities all around the world.
A lot has happened since then, and I think it's safe to say that the US is no longer a Liberal State (not to be confused with the label of 'liberal' for anyone who is left-wing). Sectarianism has been rising for decades. Everyone is urged to be part of a group, community or identity. Everything is about attacking the 'other side'. Politics becomes more polarized, with a 'You're either with us or against us' vibe. Neutral ground is disappearing, and even to be neutral is seen as an offence (hence a new slogan, 'Silence is Violence', which effectively is the same as the with-us-or-against-us stance). Conversation between the different sides becomes harder, and straight-out conflict easier. Multiculturalism becomes Balkanization, and all talk is fighting talk.
Liberalism is dead. Sectarianism has won. Into this melting pot we have the plight of the black American. If Liberalism is dead, then so is the assimilation that the civil rights movement fought for. Blacks are urged everywhere now to consider themselves Black first, American second. But there's a problem with that. Blacks remain a minority. They can't secede to run their own affairs. There are no Reservations for them to plant their flags in, no Israel to create and emigrate to. If nobody is interested in everybody just getting along, then there is nowhere for them to turn. The current movements that purport to act in their interest (populated mostly by whites) will fail them. The Black Lives Matter movement remains obsessed with the idea of a neo-Marxist solution, but Marxism is as dead as Liberalism. The White Guilt movement offers only platitudes and hand-wringing. This is a therapeutic solution, not a political one, and is only designed to make a person feel better about themselves. The Democrats offer vague messages of support and empathy to blacks (when they say 'Persons of Color', they're only thinking of one color really) in order to win their votes, but black people continue to suffer the most in Democrat strongholds and cities. They receive very little in return for their vote with regards to security or wealth. Transplanted from Africa all those years ago, they remain a Lost People (like the Jews of Europe, who lived among Europeans but always felt separate). The hope of becoming fully integrated and accepted, voiced in the 50s and 60s, now crumbles before the face of the new Sectarianism, which pursues agendas that aren't always in their favor, either culturally or personally.
So what do we make of this mess? Does America just wait for things to calm down again, returning to the original mission of the civil rights movement? It doesn't look like things are moving in that direction. Past hopes and dreams are as dead as the past itself. These are not pleasant thoughts (to put it mildly), and there's no way to sweeten the pill, but Robert Johnson's solution below may be the only way forward: a party or caucus that focuses on the desires of its constituents and uses smart power to leverage concessions from mayors, governors and the major parties. Ending the feeling of humiliation and powerlessness (and of being used) among black people and giving them a voice that they own (and Obama didn't count) may balance out the conflicting desires in this sectarian battlescape. It will be resisted, of course, because, and let us be frank about this, it marks the end of the American Dream, and it will have to be admitted that the American Dream already died. That's going to be painful at a national level, and probably will never happen without a significant collapse. But it remains better than the current anti-racism education push. Changing the world through education (enlightenment) is a classic Liberal priority, but it's been about as successful as the Catholic Church's drive to stop young men masturbating and sinning. Against realpolitik, wishful thinking never stood a chance. Hard choices may be all that is left.
