by Ernie McCray
Oh, these hair-raising
misguided
shortsighted
folks
waving their
red, white, and blue flags
and wearing their red, white, and blue
caps and hats,
and red, white and blue
tennis shoes,
on the news,
unmasked and
confused and unglued,
packing heat,
singing the blues
because they can’t
do whatever
they want to do,
like they’re some
superior race
of people
who need not
follow rules,
locking me into
fits of déjà vu
because I’ve seen
this scenario
a time or two:
mobs of white folks
taking the law
into their own hands
which inevitably
leads to a bit of misery
for us dark-skinned folks
us “minorities.”
It’s deeply embedded in our history,
the lynching and tarring and feathering
and battering
and, in this chapter capturing
these moments in time,
these terrorists of our time
are making us even more vulnerable
when we were already the most vulnerable
to the ravishes of a deadly disease
that they, and their Commander-in-Chief
in the West Wing of a big White House
in DC,
dismiss as a common flu –
they’re truly people
who wouldn’t care
if he shot someone
in the middle of Fifth Avenue.
They call themselves patriots
as they wrap themselves
in their flags
and don their caps and hats
and their sneakers,
creating a vision
of red, white, and blue
but such behavior can’t
continue to exist
as we rise out of our distancing
and isolation,
needing, if we must
continue honoring the colors
of our nation,
to best go about it
with fresh pairs of eyes
that can see our collective needs
clearly and earnestly,
with ears
that can hear our conjoining cries
at deeper and keener
frequencies,
with heartfelt intentions
that can enhance
human relations
across social
and political lines
and enable us to survive
as a species
down the line,
making our colors
shine
with a glow
that commits our souls
to embracing the color red
for the passion and desire and love
we’ll need
as agents of refashioning humankind;
to proceeding with the implied
qualities of the color white’s
goodness and purity;
to honoring the virtues
of trust, loyalty, and truth,
embodied in the color blue;
to sensing cosmically
how our blue skies
and blue seas
connect us internationally
which is a coming together that is vital
to the wellbeing
of the world’s wide-ranging
mixtures of societies.
Our red, white, and blue
colors so celebrated
and appreciated
would be an alluring
hope inspiring
sight to see.
A sight we
need to see
and must see.
Desperately.
{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
The unintended consequence of the shutdown is the unprecedented and incalculable human trauma caused by lost family members, lost jobs, failed small and large businesses, lost savings, stress, depression, delayed medical diagnosis and treatment, psychological stress, suicide, school closures, and substance, child, and spousal abuse. The State just denied the citizens the right to work, school, drive, walk, shop, play, seek medical treatment, and travel. These are the citizens being demonized for having the temerity to exercise their right under the flag of the Bill or Rights to free speech and assembly – just to restore their right to provide for their family.
Just calculate the additional human cost for rural Americans of the predicted permanent closure of 60,000 general practitioner practices in the heartland.
Scott Andrews – I’m saddened by your acceptance of Trump’s talking points. Ever heard of necessary measures to protect the public health? By far most Americans accept the social and physical distancing and wearing masks, and fear of reopening society prematurely, but your advocacy of the same crap that the protesters erroneously assert is a real let down and for those of us who worked with you on environmental concerns, it’s a slap in the face. You have lost your credibility – which hurts any cause that you might have taken up. You are a trumpist, Scott – and are no longer welcome on these pages.
I did not address safety protocols, so your response is presumptive as triggered.
I only spoke to the right to reopen businesses. Of course i support doing so under safety measures, in fact called the VA to increase their mask use and hand sanitation on entry.
Here’s your quote, right out of the Trump playbook: “The State just denied the citizens the right to work, school, drive, walk, shop, play, seek medical treatment, and travel.” That’s bullshit, Scott – and your darling Trump has been shredding the Constitution for the last 3 1/2 years. What about that???
Thank you Ernie, for a beautiful poem. I’d love to be proud of our flag and our country again. There are SO many good people that are misrepresented by the “leadership” of many of the “public officials”.
It’s time to take back our government and make it work FOR us!
RIGHT ON!