July 4, 2015

Flags and bunting line the streets

of small town USA

We celebrate what we think it means

to be American

We know all about the american dream,

Right?

Work hard enough and you can do anything.

Unless you are a woman,

then you can only go so far

Pull yourself up by your boot straps

and become anything you set your mind to!

Unless you don’t habla ingles,

then your botas are too deep,

deep down in the soil,

and your hands too full,

too full of our vegetables

to be pulling up boot straps.

And what if your skin

is just a little too dark?

Where is your dream?

Is it relegated to music and ball,

or do you get a piece of apple pie?

Do you get to dream about

wide open spaces

or do others try and make sure

you may never get out of the projects?

Can our children truly dream big dreams?

We tell them yes,

But we lie.

We lie because we can’t even see the truth anymore.

Maybe its time to change the dream.

How about we look over,

away from our own boot straps,

and look at the man on the street

next to our boots.

What if our culture of

Me

turned into a culture of

We

Could you do with less,

so we could have more?

Or do you need that apple pie

all for yourself?

Couldn’t you have a bite,

and it still taste just as sweet?

Maybe we could wrap the cold and tired in our flags

and hold the hands of the lonely and forgotten

through the fireworks.

Lets celebrate our nation by praying for the day

When won’t need a dream to hide behind.