America: Finding Our Path To Unity

This morning in a moment of frustration and hopelessness, I decided to run to our local veterans memorial for some much needed meditation and guidance from the mentors of yesteryear. Here is what they reminded me of.

Disclaimer: I write this with no agenda attached. No political endorsement of any kind. No right and no rage. While I share a frustration with my countrymen and women, I only write this as a means to share the hope in my heart for the opportunity of today. Having served alongside men and women of every race and creed who have sacrificed so much for this country, I only hope that this message speaks, in some form or fashion, from the message they would share with you if they were here today. I realize this very act is near blasphemy and one I do not have the liberty to take, but I take it none-the-less.

On her darkest day, it is not only common to lose hope in America, it is cyclical throughout the life and history of this "American experiment." Finding our path in the darkness of these challenging times can be seemingly impossible. Seeing the unity of a brighter day is almost laughable to many of her constituents given the present circumstances. The work needing to be done almost insurmountable. And yet, we do not have to search far in order to reexamine how we must regain our footing and build the future we all aspire to see. It is lost in the pages, written and unwritten, of her life that sow the seeds for a way forward. A future that still believes in the ideal that certain truths of unalienable rights remain, yet with much work to do, to be self evident.

She is not without fault. No student of history could ever forget the atrocities of humanity. Many of which realities were written out of the history books of time by the winners of wars. Just like children do, we often, no matter how much we fight against it, take on the habits and sins of our fathers. This is no relief of fault or guilt. We have to look at our scars and wounds holistically to navigate the waters of today.

Let us not forget it is under her watch that many dark times occurred. From The Battle of Wounded Knee to the Trail of Tears, from My Lai to Selma, from the Assassinations of JFK and MLK to the streets of Ferguson and Minneapolis. To write any of these out of history for the significance and shame they bring our country, would be an injustice to the premise of ideals we initially set out to be, and the Kings we refused to be ruled by. It is in our very DNA to fight against dogmatic leadership and iterate from one cocoon of our country into its next more perfectly imperfect model. Of which, many of the ideals in our constitution, we may never achieve, though we forever aspire with each step closer.

Yet, America has stood on the right side of history many times during this very watch. This will never pay for her injustices, but to deny her positive impact on humanity would be of equal malpractice as denying our own injustice. It is out of humanity’s greatest adversity that her most indescribable beauty is born. Leonardo Da Vinci once said, one can never know true beauty without first encountering the contrasting horror. For it is without great hunger that we forget just how sweet the fruit of freedom can taste. When we think about service to others - whether it be the beaches of Normandy, the medical community at home and abroad, the teachers evolving our dated education system, civil servants or activists - we find that we are a nation of people who have a history of serving humanity.

And yes, protesting and even rioting are as American as apple pie. (Note: Apple Pie originated in England) Many have given their entire lives to the betterment of this world. Throughout history, America has been a symbol of hope to the hopeless. America, in all her faults, we forget one thing - that she is nothing more than her people. And as such, it is her people that will define the future form she will take, and the example she will set for generations to come.

“Once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward. For there you have been, and there you will always long to return.” -LDV

Where do we go from here? Along the same lines, Da Vinci also said, “Once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward. For there you have been, and there you will always long to return.” In this same vein, we have a responsibility, now more than ever, to be the change we most wish to see in the world. Let us remind ourselves, anything that divides, is a distraction to the overwhelming strength in our unity. Unity, not partisan politics. Unity, not intolerance. Unity, not ignorance of perspective. Unity means a marriage of self-education, face-to-face discourse and welcomed disagreements, listening to learn vs. waiting to speak, critical thinking and contrasting history through the lens of today.

Just as we take on the attributes of our parents, we as a society take on the systemic problems (racism) created generations ago. In these great trial of times, what a great opportunity to teach our children how united we can be and what we can create together. Though the world may be very complex, sometimes by distilling it to the minds of children, the path forward seems so clear. Society, in many ways is still a child. The following is an excerpt from the Dorothy Lew Nolte poem, Children Learn What They Live.

If children live with hostility, they learn to fight…?

If children live with honesty, they learn truthfulness.?

If children live with fear, they learn to be apprehensive.

?If a child lives with fairness, He learns justice.?

If a child lives with security, She learns to have faith.?

If a child lives with approval, He learns to like himself.

If a child lives with acceptance and friendship, She learns to find love in the world…

What a wonderful time to remember our motto. E Pluribus Unum - Out of many, (we are) one.