Our founding fathers wrote an astounding document of unequaled parallel in the annals of history.  They called it The Constitution of the United States of America.  The committee on style wrote the Preamble to the Constitution – brilliantly noting ‘… in order to form a more perfect union… ‘  More perfect is all we get.  For we can never achieve perfection.

Here is the Preamble, from Wikipedia:

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence,^[1] promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

America has elected the first African American President in our history.  Barack Obama is the first person of color to lead any modern industrialized country.  And it is the United States of America that showed the world that we do indeed seek a more perfect union.

This sort of historical phenomenon could never happen in any of the countries of the Middle East.  The bigotry of Osama Bin Laden and his religious fundamentalists would never allow progress of this magnitude.  This sort of historical phenomenon could not happen in any Asian countries in the foreseeable future.  This sort of historical phenomenon has not happened in Europe – though they have had women Prime Ministers.  This sort of historical phenomenon could not happen in any of the old Soviet block countries.  This sort of historical phenomenon could only happen in The United States of America.

Does this historical phenomenon put us above other countries?  No.  Does this historical phenomenon make us perfect? Not a chance.  But this historical phenomenon does state very clearly that the United States of America lives up to the promise of a ‘more perfect union.’

Secretary of State Rice spoke eloquently about this more perfect union today.