President Dwight D. Eisenhower concluded his farewell address on Jan. 17, 1961, when "whites only" signs still dotted much of the south, with the hopes that "peoples of all faiths, all races, [and] all nations, may have their great human needs satisfied; that those now denied opportunity shall come to enjoy it to the full; …that the scourges of poverty, disease and ignorance will be made to disappear from the earth, and that, in the goodness of time, all peoples will come to live together in a peace guaranteed by the binding force of mutual respect and love." The vast majority of Americans share these hopes, although our willingness to transform them into positive actions depends upon our collective ability to cast aside petty prejudices and self-interest.
To a great extent, with the help of courageous litigants, lawyers and judges, we have been able to rise above our baser instincts in many areas, and we are a substantially more tolerant and inclusive society than we were in 1961. But we are far from the full opportunities for which Eisenhower prayed. Here are some areas for future progress, in no particular order:
