AMERICA

[pooja]

America is not perfect. It is not "God's chosen land". It is a place where, when the world was bleak elsewhere, people ran to. And when the East Coast and Washington became too much, people ran westward to the wild frontier. And now that it is all encompassing, people are running away from it. There is no new land to start. No new fresh continent to covet.

The idea of America is great. It is beholden to all others. It is the goal for every human being to be in a place where they are free and alive and are without sorrow or fear from other men. This world has what it needs to survive. Human kindness has what it needs to survive. Peace is what the weary have sought for so long.

Its not about fancy cars or bigger houses. Its not about flashy jewelry or the perfect body. Its about harmony within yourself and with the others around you. These are the teachings of so many who have lived before us. Life is precious. Each breath is a miracle in itself. There are times when I lay next to my husband that I can feel his heart beating inside of me; I know the pattern so well. I know the moment my child falls asleep when I rock him to sleep. It is amazing how in tune you can become with your immediate loved ones. There are times that I think something silently, and my husband answers back out loud.

It is time to renew America. The spirit within America. The ideals that will lead to the peace we covet. I want to leave this world knowing that it will be a better place for my children's future. I want to know that we are better than this. I want to know that in the bleakest hours and the in the depths of despair, we hold onto the light of life, liberty, and happiness before there is no one left to know what these words mean. With the power of voice and the showing of peace, we will persevere. With our choir, we can hope the world joins in and every man and woman can know peace no matter what continent they live in, no matter what color their skin.

[wtmusic]

1. Like people everywhere, we are lazy

We (collectively) think we are entitled to oppress others because we have gotten away with it. The lessons of the Revolution are not fresh in mind.

Whether we recover from this trend has implications as to whether humankind is capable of managing its own existence.

[StellaBlue]

2. It will revisit us.

The chickens are coming home to roost.

Blood will be spilt again in this land. I hope not in vain like on 9/11.

[Union Thug]

3. Thank you for this.

You struck a big part of the problem right on the nose.

America was not about expensive cars and big houses. But since the RayGun administration, the corporatists have planted and are now harvesting the seeds of 30 years of propaganda. This country has become a bastion of selfishness, and of self delusion, where credit cards create the illusion of prosperity while doing nothing but enthralling people to years of debt driven labor.

Until we finally come back to the realization that America should be about community, human kindness, and providing realistic avenues for equal opportunity for all, we will continue to march towards a corporate-totalitarianism where none of us have any value outside our ability to generate profit.