My Lament

We Americans share a collective history – our brewing melting pot (or blended salad) of humanity reflects so many different corners of the world with their cultures and languages and stories, drawn by inherent desires to pursue life, liberty and happiness. A coming to a place founded on a universal principle that all persons are created equal by God, bestowed with unalienable rights because we are each one (no matter the skin color or gender) made in His divine image.

And this principle stands true – even if for only a few brilliant moments our founding fathers held with crystal clarity to its honest truthfulness. Our flawed and broken attempts to build a government and a society around it do not negate the fact that it is true. Rather it gives us something to keep aiming for when we fail.

The crux of our current writhing is multi-faceted and deeply dynamic. The inability of some to honestly assess and acknowledge our failures and then concretely correct them has now birthed venomous hatred and anger unparalleled. The tearing apart – screaming and burning and killing – provides no answer.

The accused, silenced by shouting masses, see the writing on the walls crumbling into ash amidst the blazes: hatred and violence breed more of the same as revenge seeks its own justice – ashes and dust sting, tasting bitter. Unsatisfied, vengeance never satiated.

Elevating hatred and violence shock the worst of us and somber the best of us.

Honest dialogue drowned out by noisy rhetoric. The promise of a shattered system sets us all on precarious ground, opposing one another in greater degrees. Truth unseen in deepening fog, founding principles a vanishing guardrail, and pursuing the American Dream evaporating for all with equity.

Any who historically championed and fought to bring us all closer to equally achieving such dreams – any steps of progress made toward that potential – any banner held out as a promise for a better life – blown up, burned down, toppled, shattered, yelled at, called out, left for dead.

The pursuit of the American Dream guilty as charged – eviscerated.

As one, in unity, we fall face down in the rubble, our shredded dreams, our tattered liberties, our splintered pursuits of happiness scattered to pieces.