Building The Great Society

While president of the United States, Lyndon B. Johnson pursued the "Great Society. " He pushed for civil rights, voting rights, fair housing, and other history-making laws and legislation that improved life for all.

Nearly fifty years later,  the debate continues on what constitutes a great society or world that is inviting to all its inhabitants.  Some say universal healthcare or full employment is the key, but the search for utopia far outweighs such lofty goals.

To begin with,  any hope or talk of paradise in the Twenty-First Century must call for an end to the ethnic or class divide in America today.  It means ending racial profiling, which prompted the violence in Ferguson,  Missouri, or overall urban strife that tears our cities apart.

One way to heal America or strive toward greatness would be to confront the high school dropout crisis and lack of jobs in the inner city and remote areas of the country.  Urban and rural youth must be pressured to earn a high school diploma by family and the community and be required to gain a marketable skill or develop other talents after graduation.  Likewise,  the economy must expand to make higher education worthwhile like generations ago.  In addition, mechanisms such as tax breaks and job training should be put in place by governing bodies to assist the hardcore unemployed and older workers in a tough job market.

The closest we have come to a great society in this country was in the 1990s.  The U.S. economy grew, unlike any other time in history.  For instance,  the unemployment rate dropped to an all-time low,  which reflected all ethnic groups.  Welfare rolls were also reduced, and other federal programs were cut back.  Finally,  the federal government ended the decade with a surplus,  which hasn't occurred since in the United States.

In a country as great as the U.S.,  no citizen should be denied access to a quality education or a job to call his or her own.  It makes for a better world or life worth living.