Things I Cannot Read Aloud

I hear middle aged whites shouting “i want my country back” and “follow the Constitoootion!” at tea party rallies. Why are they saying this? I want to ask them: “who took your country and which constitution?”. I think they are referring to the original version of the Constitution which did not prevent restrictions on voting rights or ownership of slaves. Furthermore, I think these folks look around, see a black president, lots of brown faces and unfamiliar religious symbols and say to themselves: “this is not America because America should be run by white, Christians.”

I cannot read some things aloud. There are some ideas so sacred that my voice quavers and tears fill my eyes to the point I cannot see to read. I have tried so many times to read certain passages to my children and students but to no avail. One verse comes to mind:

“- - - Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!" *

This has always been my vision of America. It stands in stark contrast to much of our history; especially today when so many demonize so called “illegal immigration”. However to me this is the essence of America.


* Poet Emma Lazarus "The New Colossus" engraved on a bronze plaque and mounted inside the Statue of Liberty