The Constitution’s architects created a republic, but it would be up to succeeding generations to keep it. The natural tendency of the species is toward executive tyranny and the oppression of minorities.

Keeping it requires a threshold of wisdom, honor and morality, albeit short of perfection. Are we falling below that threshold?

The nation was born with cardinal sins. Slavery was commonplace. Women were subjugated. Religious bigotry was widespread. Native Americans were plundered and killed under the now-discredited Doctrine of Discovery, a euphemism for the strong doing what they can and the weak suffering what they must.

The Constitution treated slaves as three-fifths of a person. According to Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857), Black people had no rights white persons were bound to respect. Women were denied the franchise, access to higher education and entry into professions. Native Americans were non-citizens and dispossessed to accommodate white greed and demands for land and valuable minerals.

The Trail of Tears was but the tip of the iceberg. Union Civil War General Philip Sheridan reportedly maintained, “The only good Indian is a dead Indian.” Future President Theodore Roosevelt avowed in 1886, “I don’t go so far as to think that the only good Indians are the dead Indians, but I believe nine out of every 10 are. And I shouldn’t like to inquire too closely into the case of the tenth.” Indian treaties were broken by the United States government with the regularity of the rising and setting of the sun. Remember the Wounded Knee Massacre.

These features of America mocked the electrifying gospel of the Declaration of Independence. All persons are created equal. They are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights. Among these are the rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. To secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their legitimate powers from the consent of the governed.

The United States struggled over more than a century to overcome its ugly hypocrisies. The Civil War Amendments. The women’s suffrage amendment. Bestowing citizenship on Native Americans with the Indian Citizenship Act of 1924. The Indian Claims Commission Act of 1946. Brown v. Board of Education (1954). Jackie Robinson.

But where are we today? As William Faulkner noted, “The past is never dead. It’s not even past.” Rumors that racism ended with the election of President Barack Obama are greatly exaggerated. George Floyd. Tyre Nichols. Sonya Massey. Eric Garner. Michael Brown. Tamir Rice. Breonna Taylor. Daunte Wright. We should not be complacent because their deaths may not have been as horrifying as the murders of Emmett Till, Michael Schwerner, Andrew Goodman and James Chaney.

We have forgotten the Parable of the Good Samaritan in turning a cold shoulder to new law-abiding immigrants fleeing oppression or acute hardships.

“A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’”

“Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?” asked Jesus.

The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.”

Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”

Our leaders honor the Ten Commandments more in the breach than in the observance. They pay lip service only to Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. Yet it is the lamp to enlightenment and heaven. How many leaders subscribe to and practice Matthew 38-42:

“You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth. But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also. And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well. If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles. Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.”

Let America learn from God’s destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah for their embrace of sin. And let us take heed of Thomas Jefferson’s warning, “I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just: that his justice cannot sleep forever.”

Armstrong Williams (www.armstrongwilliams.com; @arightside) is a political analyst, syndicated columnist and owner of the broadcasting company, Howard Stirk Holdings. He is also part owner of The Baltimore Sun.