I Believe

 I believe in us. You and I. Others, too, gathered to think, consider and build a more perfect union.

The us in the United States of America is all of us. Together. United as one body we spell possibility. Potential. Horizons unlimited by fear or negative thoughts. Only the positive and possible. That comes from sharing space – both inner and outer – with one another.

I believe in the American idea of equality. Liberty, too. But liberty can only come from equality.

Free of restrictions – my own and from others – I can spread my wings, think my thoughts and discover all of life. Not just narrow bits of life, but all of it.

A deaf man composes wondrous music. A very young man composes radically good and new musical forms. A black man unlocks mysteries of biology and botany. A gay man writes poetry that stuns the world. A black gay man writes novels that search the soul of mankind to its core. A woman defines equality for women, men, children and immigrants of every color. She serves on the US Supreme Court and builds history one decision at a time.

One person can make a difference. He or she can move another, and another and yet another to form a movement that redresses the wrongs of history. Together they write history from fresh perspectives and make a better world. One day at a time. one idea at a time.

But with effort and commitment.

This is for you and I. This is for others not of our nation.

Yes, equality and potential is for all mankind throughout the globe.

I believe in this. So much so I believe America ought never be placed first, but equal among all the nations. It is how we can bring peace, equality and promise to all of the global village. The moment we favor just one nation over another, we have lost the battle. Victory for equality and promise will not breathe even once.

If we are to have peace we must be one with everyone else. That starts at home in our families, our households, or neighborhoods, our town, village and county. It spreads to our states and all of America. Then it laps at seashores to reach other continents and countries. It crosses borders on our own continent to share the good and the promise.

We must look to peace among our own people if we are to be a beacon of peace to everyone else. So, political parties, focus on all of us and what that requires. Focus on what is good for all of us rather than power and wealth for your own. Abandon partisanship and seek the universal.

To make a more perfect union we must be committed to work, patience and broad thinking. Difference and exclusion based on that needs to be erased. So simple, yet so difficult.

I get it. But I also get the larger picture that will make us whole and promising.

I believe. Oh yes, I believe. Can you?

September 21, 2020