I simply don't understand. What ever happened to make us shatter like this?
Who ever let our nation crumble under its own weight?
America's name holds finesse and grace.
Brings to mind a united nation, strong and bold and swift.
America the Beautiful, they say.
America the Beautiful. Really?
And I, who recoils when I remember that I am, indeed, "an American,"
I sit here, fingers typing away, and wondering:
How can we be so beautiful when we push immigrants away?
How can we be so beautiful when we shoot people for the color of their skin?
Think about that. The color of their skin. Isn't that ridiculous? I ask you,
How can we be so beautiful when the only thing in our vision is money and power?
How can we be so beautiful when we form "should-bes" around love?
Think about that, too. No, you can only love people of the opposite sex.
Plus, you can't identify with any other gender. Isn't that ridiculous? I ask you,
Are we really all that beautiful? We hate, we hate, we hate. It's the truth, and I ask you,
Are we really all that beautiful? Predictably,
No.
We are wrecked and torn and broken and bent and warped and shattered,
Like a glass someone dropped and didn't care enough to pick up.
Let everyone else cut their feet on the shards.
And that someone is America. We don't have to be this way.
You don't even have to love everyone. If you accept and respect people
Who've got a different skin color, a different sort of love or identity than you do,
Who came from a different place,
Then you are already a light in the dark.
America the Beautiful. Am I ridiculous in believing that maybe someday, someday,
We can hold up to this title? Someday, can we be proud of our finesse and grace?
Can our name bring to mind a united nation, strong and bold and swift?
We are wrecked and torn and broken and bent and warped and shattered,
Yes.
But there is hope, take a breath. There is hope,
And you are that hope.