Reconsiderations

It is Sept 11th and I am becoming torn about how to respond to the 20th recognition of such a horrible event.  I  wrote a post in great anger a couple of days ago.  Everything I wrote in it is true,  to me.  But I decided not to post it here.  I spoke of anger and not ever forgiving the events of THAT DAY.  And I do NOT forgive.

But this morning, I also thought about hope and new days and the past, and I decided to change my post to reflect that.  I understand that part of the World's problems are due to various People nursing old angers and victimizations.  How long should anger continue?  I remember reading about some people expressing anger about a battle fought in the 1400s (I do not recall who or which battle now).

The US fought 2 wars against Great Britain, yet we are strong allies now.  The US fought against Germany, Italy, and Japan in WWII, yet were are allies now.  People who live today are not the same people who lived in the past.  

Many people around the World and within the United States think we think we are "all so much " or "all that".  Yeah, sometimes.  We are fortunate here.  Otto von Bismarck once said, if memory serves me correctly,  "America is blessed by God having oceans on 2 sides and weak neighbors on the other 2".  Let's say "peaceful" for now.  I like our good neighbors...

So maybe this round number of years is time to begin to let anger go.  We in the US are not innocent of horrible crimes against others.  

I acknowledge that there were people here before my European ancestors, but migrations happen in history.  And I know about slavery.  We have done wrong and I can't change the past.

But I listened to a song today and it reminded me of hope.

Hope has come from many places around the world though time.    Freedom has sprung up in the weediest places and defended to the death.  Sometimes it lasts and sometimes it doesn't.  

In my lifetime, "America" has stood for hope.  It's not perfect or anything "real" close, but sometimes a good try is worth it.  As Churchill said "The Americans do the right thing...  eventually."

So I was reminded of a song.  And today it felt more important.  We here are more divided than for scores of years.  We will re-unite...

Because there is a basic promise in our very existence.  Hope, freedom, and a promise that most of us agree on outside of politics.

The symbol is from France...

The words "We The People" have reverberated though 2 centuries+, and 

“Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”

Still has meaning...

It is a promise not kept perfectly lately, but I think things are changing again.

The song is from Neil Diamond, who expressly described his Grandmother (as like so many others) reaching our shores from the far parts of the World...

Coming To America

Someday, the US will fade into history or change from what it was; every good nation has and no nation can hold the best ideals forever. History move forward relentlessly as things change.  Sometimes cruelty and horror erupts.  But somewhere there is always an island of hope.  I think we are that, however briefly.  It has been other places at different times.

To paraphrase Edna St. Vincent Millay:

Our candle burns at both ends;
It will not last the night;
But ah, our foes, and oh, our friends—
We gave a lovely light!

But for today, and with a sense of humility, we are doing the best we can and I am pretty proud of the dream.    

Better than anger and hatred.  Cherish hope! 

You can read my original post HERE.  It's a site I've used for various purposes at various times.  There is a part of me that still thinks as I wrote there, and probably always will.  Sometimes we hold conflicting thoughts in our minds.

Let's say I am going 75% with this post and 25% with the post at the link for now.  It will certainly change over time, and I don't really know in which direction...