Dear America,

Dear America,

It appears that you are going through a bit of an identity crisis right now.  I have been through a few of those in my lifetime as well.  What has helped me get through these confusing times is when people who know me well have reminded me of who I am.  I would love to do that for you if you’ll let me.  Will you allow me to remind you of who you are?

Let us begin.

I know that you and I have only been friends for 34 years now, but I have read numerous stories and have heard tons of accounts of who you were before I had the pleasure of meeting you.  Yours is a genesis that was fashioned out of bravery and courage.  Fair was not how your parents were being treated, so you were birthed out of a yearning to have inalienable rights realized and Freedom given.

As most of us do, you’ve had some bumps and bruises along your journey.  There are moments in your past that I’m sure you are not very proud of, but woven in to your fabric are moments that have shown the rest of the world just how truly outstanding you are.

I have heard stories of a time when your citizens truly cared for one another.  The term “it takes a village” was born out of an understanding that we (can I say “we” now? I feel as though you and I have become one)  were our brothers’ and sisters’ keepers.  Your youngest of dwellers couldn’t get away with much, because there were always neighbors watching out for them, and would not hesitate to give a full report of the day’s mischief once their parents were in sight.

If you ran out of milk or needed a cup of sugar, there were many of doors in the neighborhood that you could knock on to fill your need.  Kids could leave the house in the morning on a hot Summer’s day, and as long as they were home before the street lights were on, there was no need to worry about harm coming their way.

I have heard about days passed when respect was the minimum in our daily decorum.  Of course there were a multitude of things to disagree on, but that’s just it; we disagreed on the things, not on each other.

What a wonderful time that must have been.

Then, there are those bumps and bruises that I mentioned above.  The times when we actually did disagree on each other.  The stains on your fabric that come from times when we thought that some people were less than others. When we did cruel things to our brothers and sisters who bared the same image of Christ that we did.  When we lost sight of the dignity that all human beings are born with, and when we decided that those inalienable rights that your parents so vigorously fought for, only belong to a few instead of all.  I know that it must pain you to look back on these times, but in your 242 years of living, I’m sure you know by now that it’s important to look back on our worst of times, so that we can take what we need to learn from them, and become better than who we once were.

Chin up, though, because your past also comes with many shining examples of humanity at its finest, and the bravery that was present at your birth, is riddled throughout your life as the years have progressed on.  You have stood up to bullies who have threatened the very bedrock that you were built upon.  You have stood with nations who have endeavored to taste the Freedom you have, for themselves.  You have rallied the troops and have risen out of the ashes when evil has attempted to keep you down for good. When disaster has struck and people’s lives have been ravished, your children have jumped in and helped out those they have never met before. Because it was the right thing to do.  Because it was the kind thing to do.  They remembered who their neighbors were.

And now we find you at a bit of a crossroads again, America.  Something has happened to you that has left you a bit confused.  In some aspects, you don’t look like yourself, and in others, you do – but not the parts of yourself you wish to highlight.  When you look in the mirror, you’re not sure of the country that is staring back at you.  Something has happened to us.

We have been cut with the sharp blade of Division, and he has done his job very well.  We  no longer look at each other with the dignity that we were born with, but instead as enemies on the other side of the created chasm. We have somehow lost the skill of disagreeing on an issue but remaining civilized friends.  We now view our way as the only possible “right” way, and when faced with an opposing view, we retreat back to our corners where every one else in our tribe thinks the same way we do, instead of being brave enough to step out in to the unknown to take a closer look and examine this “other” for ourselves.  We are choking on our own self-righteousness while forgetting the very depths of despair that Guilt and Shame once held us in.  Empathy is not an emotion we feel that frequently anymore because our transgressions aren’t as bad as theirs. We have forgotten that we are in this together.

But take heart, my dear America. This cut will heal too.  We always do.  Some wounds take longer to heal than others, and some of our wounds are still working on fully closing.  But we will heal.  You will heal.  How do I know?  Because progress has been made already.  Though it may be slow, bit by bit is happening every day. Parts of you are starting to regain its glow.  You are starting to rise up again.  And some parts of you, dear friend, are rising up for the very first time.

The thing about a cut is that no matter how deep it is, it always heals. It may leave a gnarly scar to remind you of the trauma that you once endured, but it always heals. When we’ve run out of the steam that is fueling our rage, we’ll settled down and come back to the fact that it is only united that you can truly stand.

So as you stand in front of that mirror confused as to who is staring back at you, try to remember who you really are my friend.  You are resilient.  You are strong.  You do not let evil persist for too long without doing something about it.  You are for justice.  You are courageous.  You bounce back. You rally together when some one is in need.

You are one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

Believing The Best For You,

Your Pal Ari