As the year continues to unfold, a practice of gratitude and reflection about what inspires me to connect with others and build community is something I have incorporated into my life. It helps me focus on what impact I’d like to have. When I think about my own life, from growing up in a small Southern town to being a United States District Judge in the District of Oregon, I know I stand on the shoulders, dreams, hope and sacrifices of many generations before me, my great grandparents, my grandparents, my father, my mother, people known to me and people I have never met. The life I have is because they believed anything is possible and you are building a better life for yourself and those who come after you. Growing up, I was taught that America is a place where we can contribute our talents, pursue opportunities, and fulfill our dreams for ourselves and for others. As former President Barack Obama said, America is a place where we can retain pride in our lived experiences and cultural heritages, but where we recognize that we have a common creed: a loyalty to the Constitution, a loyalty to our democracy. A place where we can criticize our government but understand that we love it; where we agree to live together even when we don’t agree with each other; where we work through the democratic process to resolve disputes, rather than through violence or intolerance, where we live side by side as neighbors.1 Because of my work as chair of the American Bar Association’s Cornerstones of Democracy Commission, I’ve thought and think regularly about democracy, civics, civility and collaboration. Living for as long as I have, I recognize that the truth is being an American citizen is hard and challenging. Being part of a democratic government is hard and challenging. It’s supposed to be. All of us are called to live up to our expectations for ourselves — not just when it’s convenient, but when it’s inconvenient, when it’s tough and we’re afraid. Because it’s about the meaning of America: what kind of country do we want to be? The principles America was founded upon apply to all of us, not just a select few. It’s about the capacity of each generation to honor the creed as old as our founding: “E Pluribus Unum”, out of many, we are one.2 President John F. Kennedy said, “No form of government requires more of its citizens than does the American democracy.” Our system of self-government depends on ordinary citizens doing the hard, frustrating but always essential work of citizenship — of being informed. That work gives purpose to every generation. It belongs to me. It belongs to you. It belongs to all of us, as citizens. To follow our laws, yes, but also to engage with your communities and to speak up for what you believe in. And to vote; to not only exercise the rights that are now yours, but to stand up for the rights of others to shape our country’s course. The words on the founding documents alone are not just what makes America great, it is also the progress they’ve inspired. Our history provides us with a better story, a better blueprint for how we can win. It teaches us that when we pull ourselves out of those lowest emotional depths and we channel our frustrations into studying, organizing and banding together, we can build ourselves and our communities up. We can take on those deep-rooted problems and together we can overcome anything standing in our way. Often, people think they need to be larger than life to make a difference. That’s not true. By being you wherever you are, in whatever capacity you choose, things will be transformed over time because working strategically and consistently creates changes in the future that cannot always be foreseen in the present. Let us be reminded that individuals and collective action can make a difference. Why? Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. once put it this way: “We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.” Our collective consciousness and shared humanity are inextricably connected to civility and integrity because people with opposing viewpoints should be able to disagree without it spiraling into the negative discourse. Powerful discourse is HON. ADRIENNE NELSON is a district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Oregon, located at 1000 SW Third Ave., Portland, OR 97204. She can be reached at Nelson_CRD@ord. uscourts.gov or 503-326-8355. View from the Bench Making a Difference by Judge Adrienne Nelson See View from the Bench p. 12 11 Trial Lawyer | Summer 2024
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