The Torch of America
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If you have ever seen a torch run in the Olympics it is not
carried by one person it is carried by many and they do not carry it alone they
are met by people standing on the side cheering them on. They are met by smiles and acceptance, not
asking why you are here but saying what took you so long for we are glad you
finally arrived.
What is our torch of America?
What is the symbol that we have held high?
America has long tried to create a land full of promises and
dreams, a land that could generate a torch that would burn for freedom. The 14th amendment states
“No
State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or
immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property,
without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the
equal protection of the laws.”
This torch has been burning out slowly.
America has swum in the deep waters of complacency for a
long time now. America isn’t a land of
democracy because it’s given to us; it’s a land of democracy because we must
demand it on a daily basis.
We have stopped demanding and began fighting. The difference is to demand is a planned
strategic action and to fight is to act out in an emotional reaction. The former puts power at the forefront and
the latter puts your weakness on display.
Demanding is when the Native Americans fought the settlers
in North Carolina because they did not want to be enslaved any longer which
then destroyed farming for two years.
Demanding is when the first women’s rights convention was
held in New York demanding the rights of women especially for the right to
vote.
Demanding is when the Congress of Racial Equality began to
organize freedom rides throughout the south to try to de-segregate interstate
public bus travel.
You may see the pattern but demanding rights is a strategic
plan in responding to systematic injustices.
Fighting is an emotional reaction to the actions of another human being.
Ferguson your neighborhood was burning down before you began
to burn it down. You just decided to
react when someone put you (to use an old school term) on front street. Your trash was out there for everyone to see
and now the nation was looking too. Did you make this trash by yourself no, like in most urban neighborhoods the trash is made by us and given to us with no clean up help in sight.
But, buildings should have been burning when the first abandoned building was made into a crack house, you should have been marching in the streets when voter registration was below 60%, and you should have took to the streets in arms when your graduation rate was low for those in economically challenging circumstances.
But, buildings should have been burning when the first abandoned building was made into a crack house, you should have been marching in the streets when voter registration was below 60%, and you should have took to the streets in arms when your graduation rate was low for those in economically challenging circumstances.
My frustration is birthed from the fact that we have
continuously displayed the same reaction and not a plan of action. I applaud organizations that are on the front
lines of change, but they should be the rule and not the exception to the rule.
To all those that marched in the street I am always proud to
see the different hues and cultures of America come together and march, for
that is the torch that America has carried.
Democracy was challenged and held accountable with African-Americans by
marching in the streets. But, the
difference is there was a plan and a goal after the march was over.
I dare to assume that most of the people that were marching
yesterday, no matter what state, awakened the next day with a story to tell and
not a plan to put in place to help those that are displaced, disinherited, and
dispossessed of opportunities for life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
It is very interesting that as POTUS passes a new
immigration bill for some of our brothers and sisters in this country to just
get 10% of what most of us take for granted, we are marching for the rights of
people that helped to build the very foundation of this land.
If only we would walk hand in hand to help generate change
before it is forced upon us.
What is our torch America?
What are we passing on to each other?
