Hot dogs, fireworks, baseball, freedom of speech and the stars and stripes. This is America. Gun shots, abuse of power, children separated, and blind faith. This, is also America. Every other week there’s blood in our streets. Blood that’s spilled, color doesn’t matter, the stain left behind is red either way. We offer our apologies, our thoughts, our prayers, but that isn’t enough. We so often turn a blind eye, it isn’t happening to us, so it isn’t our problem. Too soon the pain, the hate, the anger, the fear will seep into your community, and it will be your problem. Think of America as a body. The hand does not move without the thought to do so, and the right doesn’t often act without the left knowing. The problems of our fractioning nation may not be on our doorstep, but they are a part of us. The pain and hurt ripple outward, extending to the shores on either side. Do not be limited by the borders of your own world or your own mind. America isn’t the land we stand on, or the constitution. America isn’t speaking English, your guns, or an attitude. America is not a Christian nation, but an asylum for all those who long to worship in peace. America is a patchwork of people, from all different walks of life. America is like the church. The church is not the building, the church is not the act of worship which takes place within its walls; the church is the people. White, Middle-Eastern, African, Asian, Native, Latino and so many more, they are America. They are what makes America great. God created us all in his own image, but none of us are God. We have the freedom, granted by God, to make our own choices, to believe what we believe, and America is the place to be to believe what you want to believe. We cannot continue to allow our closeminded thoughts to keep us from the big picture. We must rise above ourselves and do the difficult thing. We must do what we feel is right. God has not changed, but the way that his word is interpreted has. There have been deplorable acts carried out in His name and none of them favorably remembered. “What is done is done in God’s name, therefore it is just.” Do we want that to be our footnote in history? Instead let us be remembered for Deuteronomy 31:6:
6 Be strong and courageous, do not be afraid or tremble in dread before them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you. He will not fail you or abandon you.”
By Hannah Sweet
*Inspired by "This is America" By Childish Gambino