In January 1, 1863, President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, thereby freeing all those that were slaves in those States that were in active rebellion against the Union of the States. Upon the successful conclusion of our civil war, the 13th through 15th Amendments were passed, which signified that on a national level, slavery was eradicated, and further that all those that were born or naturalized within this country were thereby citizens of it, and additionally that those previously disenfranchised from voting by virtue of their race, or previous condition of servitude, were thereby enfranchised to vote. Each of these measures, demonstrated the true greatness and vision of America, but as in everything, there is the law, and then there is the application of the law in reality, and these are often two entirely different things, of which the aftereffects of this, still are quite relevant, today.
In point of fact, though slavery is no longer legal in America, and therefore all people in America, are by definition, free; in actuality, the face of America, though it is changing, is a face that favors in particular, the white race, as well as favoring those that are connected to the right people, and in many cases, favors those that have money and know how to use such to influence things, all at the expense of those that do not.
This country has an ethical and sacred duty to live up to the very words of its own Declaration of Independence, that tells us that "all men are created equal", so that the proof of whether this country lives up to those most noble words, comes down to taking a very careful and comprehensive look at the reality of those that live within this country, as to whether therefore the mankind in this country, are thereby judged by the content of their character, or whether they are prejudged by something other than their character, such as their creed, their race, or their gender.
The reason that Lady Justice is so often portrayed with a blindfold across her eyes is because justice is supposed to be impartial and to the degree that it is, the laws therefore are being equally applied and equally enforced. However, clearly, our modern day age, tells the story of what America really is; in which, those that were previously enslaved, and have been Americans for generations upon generations, are far too often, the poorest and the most illiterate amongst us, which could only be the case through the misapplication of justice, substandard education facilities, and lack of opportunity.
It is one thing to not know the right thing to do, and it is entirely a different thing to know the right thing to do, and then not follow through on seeing it so be done, thoroughly. So then, the sin of America is not its lack of knowledge, nor its lack of vision, but rather its inability to follow through on that which separates those that mean well but fail to do well, as compared to those that make it their point, to mean well, and will not ever quit until they have done well.