Joseph C. Wilson: People for the American Way

The Huffington Post

The core values enshrined in our founding documents are those that I fought for as a diplomat overseas for so many years. I never envisioned that one day I might have to return home to fight for them here.

I freely admit to you that I am new to this fight that the People for the American Way has been waging for the past twenty five years. How naïve of me to believe that the gentle exposure of human failings that I watched on All in the Family so many years ago would not in and of itself wash away bigotry in our society.

How naïve to conclude that a broad consensus on constitutional rights and freedoms had been achieved and was now by and large settled.

I now understand, as have other generations of Americans, that the fight for freedom and equality, for a social order based on merit, not birth, wealth, or partisan allegiance, is never ending. Benjamin Franklin had it right when, on leaving Constitution Hall in response to the question 'What kind of government have you bequeathed us,' he said, "A Republic, if you can keep it." We must constantly fight for our Republic, for our constitution and for our freedoms against those who would subvert them.