Dear America, I love you
I will protect you with my vote.
I will protect you with my daily choices
I will protect you with my healing thoughts
I will protect you with my wisest words
I know you are hurt, and damaged, and sullied, and tainted.
It is not you. You, dear America, are innocent
You who crack open and give us the otherworldly Grand Canyon
You who release your melted snow over Yosemite’s majestic Bridal Falls
You who feed the wild horses of Montana with your tall grass
Who fill us with awe over your Grizzlies and Bald Eagles
Who make us smile with your barking sea lions and flightless roadrunners
You who welcome, without prejudice, those who were here first,
And all immigrants since, with your beautiful melting pot of acceptance.
You. You welcomed us all with our hopes and dreams
With your wide open arms, wide open plains, wide open rivers, wide open valleys and canyons and mountains and hills and oceans.
Thank you. I know it wasn’t you, America. It’s not your fault. Your beautiful “We the People” and “Liberty and Justice for all” still rings in our hearts. It’s not you.
It’s us.
