A Shining Light
I’ve always had this troubled mind.
I distinctly remember being no more than ten or eleven years old, and having been made aware of the big, bad world (I actually knew about the fighting in Vietnam - my parents shared stuff with us) I recall thinking:
“I was lucky to be Born in the USA.”
I even felt fortunate to be in New York because my Dad was proud of saying it was the best state.
I’ve lived in other states. I’ve been in most of them. I’ll die as a resident of New York.
And I still feel fortunate.
Yet, the song, “Born in the U.S.A.” wasn’t all about feeling proud, and I figured that out too.
I watched footage of the thousands of people in the caravan. It’s an overwhelming piece of video.
I saw a lot of kids in there.
“We don’t want ‘em! It’s an assault on our country.”
When I was a kid, I was taught that we are better than other countries because we stand up for what’s right.
“A shining light on a hill,” Reagan once said.
The light bulb needs to be changed....
...it’s dimly shining now...
...if at all.
And my Mom and Dad taught us to stand for that flag, and to think compassionate thoughts of others.
“Some people don’t have as much as you have.”
I’ve been forever mindful of that.
I don’t feel shame when I look at those people.
If my kids were starving and we were fleeing for our lives...
...I’d run for the light too.
But, I don’t know anymore.
It seems to me that collectively we don’t care about that so much anymore...
...and that pains the idealistic child in me...
...it pains the compassionate adult too.
I think of my kids and often wonder how they’re seeing things.
I’ve taught them to be compassionate.
They know we have been blessed.
They stand for the flag...
...I wonder though...
...how much their country pains them from time to time.
Shining light on a hill?
Maybe...
...someday again.
I distinctly remember being no more than ten or eleven years old, and having been made aware of the big, bad world (I actually knew about the fighting in Vietnam - my parents shared stuff with us) I recall thinking:
“I was lucky to be Born in the USA.”
I even felt fortunate to be in New York because my Dad was proud of saying it was the best state.
I’ve lived in other states. I’ve been in most of them. I’ll die as a resident of New York.
And I still feel fortunate.
Yet, the song, “Born in the U.S.A.” wasn’t all about feeling proud, and I figured that out too.
I watched footage of the thousands of people in the caravan. It’s an overwhelming piece of video.
I saw a lot of kids in there.
“We don’t want ‘em! It’s an assault on our country.”
When I was a kid, I was taught that we are better than other countries because we stand up for what’s right.
“A shining light on a hill,” Reagan once said.
The light bulb needs to be changed....
...it’s dimly shining now...
...if at all.
And my Mom and Dad taught us to stand for that flag, and to think compassionate thoughts of others.
“Some people don’t have as much as you have.”
I’ve been forever mindful of that.
I don’t feel shame when I look at those people.
If my kids were starving and we were fleeing for our lives...
...I’d run for the light too.
But, I don’t know anymore.
It seems to me that collectively we don’t care about that so much anymore...
...and that pains the idealistic child in me...
...it pains the compassionate adult too.
I think of my kids and often wonder how they’re seeing things.
I’ve taught them to be compassionate.
They know we have been blessed.
They stand for the flag...
...I wonder though...
...how much their country pains them from time to time.
Shining light on a hill?
Maybe...
...someday again.
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