I am able to sympathize with him because I can imagine what it would have been like to be so ruthlessly oppressed by others because of something out of my control. I am grateful to him and others who endured similar oppressive difficulties, including my own Mormon pioneer ancestors, to persist, excel, and succeed in spite of their perceived differences. 

Throughout human history people's "natures" divided them into smaller groups based on class, caste, regional geography, religious affiliation (or non-affiliation), among other things. This has been the norm for 12,000 years. But then, at a magical even miraculous moment in history, something changed. The confluence of thousands of years of Western social and political thought came together with a handful of influential yet imperfect leaders in a relatively small outcropping of the British Emplire.

The idea of the United States of America was born and started to develop as an ideal, that "ALL men are created equal," is the miracle. Does that mean it was perfect from the start? Of course not. As a student of American history, we have a complicated past. Are we a racist country? Yes...and no. Are we a bigoted country? Yes...and no. Are we a united country, even today? No...and yes. We are united in what we could be, and like a family with complicated siblings, we're still figuring it out.

Is the United States of America the greatest country in human history? Yes. Full stop. Why? Because ONLY in the USA could humans supercede their "natures" for a common goal of FREEDOM.

So, is Reggie Jackson's and others' experiences dealing with blatant racism evidence that the United States of America a failed experiment? No. Is the experience of my Mormon forefathers being tortured, oppressed, and literally forced out of the United States of America evidence that the USA is a failed experiment? No. It is evidence of all of us, even the villains, are still trying to work out how we are to live together with the understanding that we are all "created" equal. Giving the idea of America a chance is giving all of us a chance to be more like our Savior. Give those who hate us enough grace to realize their mistakes, but not too much grace that we forget our divinely appointed ability to be who we are. In other words, being an American in the best-possible sense, to me, means following Jesus as best as we can.