Cecil Rhodes, empire builder of British South Africa, once said, “to be born English is to win first prize in the lottery of life.” That mentality renews my gratitude for a nation whose first founding document says that “all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”

I’m grateful for the freedom to live life with dignity, and to live in a nation where equality of opportunity is the birthright of every one of its citizens. I’m grateful for the means to have a meaningful career, build wealth, and acquire property.

So whenever the occasion arises, I’m quick to rise from my seat and say with everyone else, “I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”

But wait. I’m well educated. Would I’ve had the liberty to live a better and more advanced life apart from attending good schools? Not if I had graduated ill-equipped in English and math.

The state of public education in our inner cities is disturbing. Standardized test results indicate a majority of students can’t do basic reading or math, leaving them to graduate without the skills to capture life’s opportunities.

Suburban districts see varied TCAP scores

Hence, Gov. Lee’s signature 2019 Education Savings Account law. It gives families in Shelby and Davidson counties tax dollars to pay for private school tuition, ensuring, Lee says, that “Tennessee families have the opportunity to choose the school that they believe is best for their child.”

While using tax dollars to pay for private school tuition is questionable, and diverting resources (both money and engaged families) from traditional public schools is objectionable, seeking to provide opportunity for a good education to every American child is applaudable. It’s in keeping with democracy in Webster’s sense of “the absence of hereditary or arbitrary class distinctions or privileges.”

School vouchers to be implemented immediately, governor says

Inner-city students having access to elementary education of the same quality provided in affluent communities – that’s democracy. But if Gov. Lee’s school voucher law is not the answer, what is? I don’t know. I only know the status quo in inner-city schools belies our pledge to the cause of “liberty and justice for all.”

Here are some thoughts, though, about a way forward.

Could we tamp down the politics? Could Republican and Democratic decision makers work jointly toward initiating reforms leading to a solution but with a willingness to depart from their side of the issue if reason demands it?

Could a working dialogue include addressing a hitherto ignored subject relative to educational success – family breakdown and the limitations it imposes on children?

Could we make the guiding principle for any existing or future legislation, as well as every school board decision, “Does it put kids first?”

These ideas spring from the hope our country becomes a society where everybody gets a chance.