O Beautiful

O beautiful for spacious skies,

For amber waves of grain,

For purple mountain majesties

Above the fruited plain!

America! America! God shed His grace on thee,

And crown thy good with brotherhood

From sea to shining sea!

(America, The Beautiful, by Katharine Lee Bates – 1913)

The very first elementary school I attended in the United States, was built surrounding a courtyard in the middle of the grounds. It is the only school I loved and have fond memories of. I still remember the way my Kindergarten teacher, and maybe it as just the way the classroom smelled (think Haiku, from Avon), the sand and water table just outside the door, and the solace of the tiny wooden indoor tree house we took turns reading in during nap time.

Every morning before studies began, all the students would be corralled into the center of the mall surrounded by tall trees and the stone tables where we sat for lunch and assemblies. I can still see the way the sunlight floated into that space through the branches like tiny stars escaping the nights retreat from the morning. There we would recite the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag, and sing America, The Beautiful! It was the most beautiful song my six-year-old ears had ever heard.

Years later, all throughout my lifetime, I would find myself singing it aloud when it came to mind. "For purple mountains, majesty, above the fruited plain! America, America, God shed His grace on thee...".

My son, staring at me one day as I sang, began swaying along to the tune. I finished the first verse and then asked him, "do you know that song?" He replied, "what song?" I couldn't believe it. They don't brainwash children with that kind of morning ritual anymore!? A part of me was relieved, but another part of me wondered, what's going on with the world when the children don't learn the nation's anthems anymore?

I know now that it matters not if children learn these anthems. Not just because their meaning has been negated by hatred, but because they have already served their purpose. Oh, how your covering has fallen America. Your insides now unveiled, rotting away, deep, and cold with chasms of dismay foreboding. You seeded liberation whilst sacrificial allegiance to this nation into minds of your children - a curated two-edged sword. You created a dragon – on purpose. You would have control for all time or burn the country to the ground before relenting of your seat in power.

The events that took place at the Capitol Building in Washington, DC yesterday sadden me. I am numb to the repetitive nonchalance of this nation’s inconsistencies. Troubled with this fresh reminder of the inequalities and the absence of justice. Exhausted with the show of prejudice and hatred unashamedly displayed.

Toleration: That is what sums up your disposition. Your consistency, the content of your character America, is what you will and will not tolerate.

Thank you for constantly reminding me that my existence truly is tolerated only to a certain extent in this country. We, anyone who is not your own, are expendable at the limits of your toleration.

A post on social media today reads, “We’re not asking you to shoot them like you shoot us. We’re asking you NOT shoot us, like you don’t shoot them.”

You tolerated what happened yesterday because you were dealing with people who look like your mothers, sisters, fathers, and brothers. Furthermore, citizens who were conditioned to react irrationally and recklessly without the fear of repercussion.

I fear for our sons, fathers, brothers, mothers, and sisters, who do not look like you. Where are our “spacious skies”? Our “brotherhood”? Where is our America? Is there anywhere between the “shining seas” that we can inhabit unscathed? What can we offer our children that you will allow them to retain? Not self-worth, pride, or liberty. Not “the pursuit of happiness.” Not safety. We cannot even extend to them your unfinished emancipation.