are you waterloo or peterloo?

The question would probably make more sense to a Brit -- since that was the target of Bagehot's column in The Economist two weeks ago.

The current Brexit debate has opened a gap in British society based on the perception of the country's history. The Economist has been one of the leaders in claiming the old left-right divide is starting to make little sense. The new paradigm of "inward-looking" and "outward looking" is in vogue. Or, as some would have it: "somewheres" and "anywheres."

Some see Waterloo as the height of British glory. Britain fighting off European tyranny almost single-handedly to bring a century of peace to the continent. Everyone pulling together for the greater honor of the nation.

The Peterloo Massacre happened just a few years after Waterloo in Manchester when a cavalry charge killed 15 people during a demonstration in favor of parliamentary reform.

The right wing in Britain idolizes the Big Nation notion of Waterloo. The left wing has idealized the "class struggle" that changed British history. And how they each see history affects their view of Britain today.

I thought of that article on my walk along Fort Lauderdale's beaches. Fort Lauderdale is a monument to good-time vacuity. Sun. Sand. Sea. Sybaritic pleasure.

Positioned right next to a giant snowman sculpture enjoying a day in the sun is the sign pictured above. The contrast is jarring.

Florida is a southern state. And it carries the moral burden of not only being a slave-holding state, but an active participant in the Jim Crow laws that scarred post-Civil War American history.

Like most public facilities, Florida's beaches were segregated. And, just like education, the separation did not result in equal opportunities. The "colored beaches" (as they were known in law) were difficult to access and lacked anything that would make them attractive for recreation.

A woman in Fort Lauderdale took it upon herself to do something. Eula Johnson, a businesswoman and president of the local NAACP chapter, was tired of waiting for the federal government to put an end to segregation.

On a busy national holiday (the Fourth of July in 1961), she led a small contingent of black beachgoers to one of Fort Lauderdale's white-only beaches and conducted what is now known as a "wade-in."

Turmoil followed. The city was shamed, and tried to entice the black waders away by improving the segregated beach. White citizens sued Ms. Johnson; she won. And, eventually, without any of the horrors of Selma, the beaches were desegreated.

I had not heard of this interesting tale of local honor. It immediately reminded me of the Waterloo analogy. A proud moment in American history of dignity conquering oppression.

And the moment I thought that, I knew if I wrote about this topic, some readers would immediately retort that the wade-ins were fine, but they did not ultimately change the struggle that the country faces with race.

The Waterloo-Peterloo distinction is a false one historically. Britain did not act alone in defeating Napoleon. Without the help of the Prussians, Waterloo station could be a train stop in Paris instead of London.

And the class struggle at Peterloo was not the sole cause for social change in 19th century Britain, despite what Jeremy Corbyn claims . The repeal of the Corn Laws did far more to improve the lives of the British working man.

The same is true with the attempts to finish the work Lincoln began with the reforms that rose out of the Civil War. Just as his work was incomplete, so is the work that ended the Jim Crow laws.

But that does not mean we should not celebrate the victories that were won by brave individuals like Eula Johnson and her waders. It truly was a Waterloo moment. And I was extremely happy to discover the sign.

For those who say her work made no difference, let me relate this tale. As I was reading the sign, a middle-aged woman and man and their son passed by me after spending an afternoon on the beach. The same beach that was once posted "whites only." They were African-American.

We have made great strides in pulling down the formal laws that offended the very essence of the Declaration of Independence. And I suspect, if we could just turn loose of certain political positions on both the left and right, we could do a lot better at living together as individuals.

At least, we should all be able to celebrate the steps our fellow citizens have taken to help Dr. King's dream become a reality.

"When we allow freedom to ring -- when we let it ring from every city and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, 'Free at last, Free at last, Great God almighty, We are free at last.'"

To which I can only add -- amen.