Today I thought about creating a freebie commemorating this great country’s Independence Day. I just couldn’t muster it. I have a very patriotic one from last year that you are more than welcome to download. I don’t like to come on here and post negative things, but America has made me feel sad lately.
There’s something to be said about believing we live in the “best country in the world.” In my heart, there is no other country I would rather live in. Granted, I’ve visited only three other countries, and as much as I loved Rome, America is my home. This country that brought my parents from a festive Caribbean island to her greatest alabaster city, the City of New York.
Watching the news can be depressing. There’s so much hate in our political system from both sides of the aisle and it’s really heartbreaking. Sometimes I wonder…
How do other countries see us? What do other countries think of our politics? They must think we’re nuts. Living in the sweet land of liberty and all we can do is wage war on our neighbors. The country that was founded on religious freedom…
Why can’t we honor our Founding Fathers and let religion and state be separate? Did Jesus not say “Pay Caesar what belongs to Caesar — and God what belongs to God?” Shouldn’t this still hold true in our society so long as there are “Christians?”
Or how about our immigration fiasco? Has Lady Liberty, America’s beacon of light, become dim and outdated?
Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.
“Keep ancient lands, your storied pomp!” cries she
With silent lips. “Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”
Tonight, as I watch the fireworks, I’ll continue my tradition of silently singing The Star Spangled Banner in my head, revering the words “And the rocket’s red glare, the bombs bursting in air, gave proof through the night that our flag was still there.” I’ll be saying a silent prayer of gratitude for all the souls that fought for our liberty in our country’s infancy. A prayer that also asks for America to remember her roots.