Stories of America
There once was a story of America. It told of the aspiration of centuries of heartbreaking human struggle, of the shining proof that people from every nation on Earth, every walk of life, and every religious belief, could come together in a spirit of community. It told how a magnificent government was formed, how universal needs such as water and roads, breathtaking national parks, law enforcement, and the education of our children, were understood to be the property, and the responsibility, of all. It spoke to the longings of humanity. It spoke to the human heart.
Nations are shaped by stories
Nations are shaped by stories. They define who we are and what we want to be. Reality seldom reaches ideal and America wasn’t perfect. Minorities struggled; there was racism, discrimination, poverty. But the story sought perfection.
It was a story of hope and love, a story of faith and dignity, a story of trust and fairness and respect. It was a story of community, a story of caring, of children, of neighborhoods. It was a story of grace and beauty – a story of all the best that humans could be. It was a story of life.
But there came a time when citizens quit paying attention, when they forgot that “the price of freedom is eternal vigilance,” and the seeds of a false story of America were sewn. Nearly imperceptible at first, the story grew, and in coming to fruition, it was found to be an old, an ancient story.
It was found to be an old, an ancient story
It is the story of survival of the fittest and every man for himself, a story where cunning and deception and using others is glorified. It is a story of greed and ruthlessness, a story where sociopathic behavior is idolized, sold as normal. It is a story of hate and viciousness – a story of guns and “stand your ground,” where children are legally murdered for being young and confused. It is an ugly story – a story of all the worst that humans can be. It is a story where the less fortunate are ridiculed and shamed, where the poor are blamed for their poverty. It is a story that uses women and children – fair game for “free market” profit. It is a story where lives are laundered through Wall Street, where every man is an object for exploitation, where human misery is a rich man’s lawful gain. It is a story that destroys community, that pits neighbor against neighbor, friend against friend. It is a story that kills the spirit – a story of hatred for Earth, a story of hatred for life.
The true story of America is dying because the extraordinarily wealthy have returned us to a time of darkness, have convinced us that “survival of the fittest” and “every man for himself” is the natural order of life. It is dying because ideological pathologies serving only the rich and powerful have replaced truth and integrity and any sense of decency or concern for our fellow man. America is dying because we have allowed a self-centered malignancy to take control.
It is the story of America we must retell . . .
Cancer has taken root in America and we must put an end to it. America was once the envy of the world, and it was not because of our power, or wealth, or empire. We were the envy of the world because the story of America represented the ideal of all previous human endeavors – a community of man, where people came together for the good of all. It truly was a story of grace and beauty, a story of life. It is the story of America we must retell. . .