Rep. Mike Hill: We’re striving toward a more perfect Florida

We recently commemorated the 50th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King’s address to the 1963 March on Washington. Only a few weeks before, Jesse Jackson came to our state and declared Florida an “apartheid state,” calling for a boycott of Florida goods and services.

The stark contrast between Dr. King’s “Dream” and Jackson’s vitriol is evidence that modern-day race hustlers will declare themselves advocates for civil rights while they drive the nation apart. Sadly, their decision to divide us in exchange for money and publicity comes when Americans need to come together.

Across this great nation, there are still isolated pockets of racism and discrimination, of that there is no doubt. Florida is not alone in that regard, which is why Jackson’s comments, aimed at Florida alone, are so obviously and intentionally attempting to divide Americans.

Our nation is not perfect, nor will it ever be. Yet America has excelled for the past 237 years precisely because we all strive for a more perfect union, as our nation’s Founders stated so eloquently in the Preamble to the Constitution of the United States.

The genius reflected in that document recognizes that, except for God’s grace, nothing on Earth can truly be perfect. Yet the Founders also knew that by pointing to the self-evident truth of freedom, no other nation on the planet could offer the same opportunity for individuals to succeed. By working together toward a common goal, within a representative form of democracy, and endowed by our Creator with the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, Americans have flourished.

Can we do better? Of course. We should never stop striving for “a more perfect union.” But the only way to do so is working together, grounded in truth, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.

One of the surest ways to trample the equality granted to us by God and enshrined in the Constitution, is to segregate our fellow citizens through divisive language and labels. On a recent appearance on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” I was introduced as “the first Republican African-American elected to the state legislature since the Civil War.” On that broadcast, I told the hosts that I reject the label of “African-American.” After all, I am a natural-born citizen of the United States as were my parents and grandparents. I served in our military as did my father and my grandfather. I am an American. This is my country!

I believe the time has come for all of us to set aside whatever pride we might have in our individual heritage, to reject the labels that divide us, reject those things that set us apart from one another, and reject anything that fails to advance the common good.

I will go to Tallahassee to represent all of the citizens who live in our Panhandle district, no matter what labels may be applied to them. I will make decisions with all of Florida’s citizens in mind and I will focus on those issues that demonstrate a path to prosperity for all of our people.

We have serious issues to decide in Florida, including how we can improve the education of the next generation and how we will continue Florida’s economic recovery under the leadership of Gov. Rick Scott, Speaker Will Weatherford, and Senate President Don Gaetz.

To deal with serious issues, the time has come for all of us to join together, in the same spirit adopted by our Founders, to create a society that respects life, freedom and opportunity, striving for a more perfect Florida.