David Marshall: The battle over Social Security

The Black community as a whole can never afford to lose empathy for one another. One of the core challenges in maintaining social justice is communicating the need for empathy. It is most critical to be willing to put yourself in another person’s shoes to understand their feelings, plight, and perspectives while using that understanding to guide your actions. The pursuit of happiness is a fundamental God-given right that the Founding Fathers deemed worthy enough to recognize, uphold, and protect. In his sworn duty as president, Franklin Roosevelt understood and accepted the need to protect this fundamental right. In his 11th& State of the Union address, Roosevelt said, “This Republic had its beginning, and grew to its present strength, under the protection of certain inalienable political rights… our rights to life and liberty. As our nation has grown in size and stature, and as our industrial economy expanded, these political rights proved inadequate to assure us equality in the pursuit of happiness.” He explained, “We have come to a clear realization of the fact that true individual freedom cannot exist without economic security and independence.” To assure equality in the pursuit of happiness, Roosevelt spoke of having a second Bill...