“…And yet I swear this oath- America will be!”
“Let America be America” by Langston Hughes
Every 4th of July, i post this poem. And year after year, it feels as if we’re getting further and further away from that promise. It feels as if every barrier broken unearths a deeper division, as if every step forward sets off a landmine. A small faction of fanatics on both extremes of the political divide is holding the large majority of us hostage. And they seem hell-bent on sacrificing democracy for their ideologies. It feels as if the unifying power of the American Dream is over. Or maybe, I’ve just been confusing the dream with the myth.
I’ve loved America since i was a kid. i love her with the love of an immigrant. The love of one who works, fights and begs to belong. She didn't make it easy, but she made it possible- the freedom to better myself. But then i wanted more. i wanted her to love me in return. i demanded that she live up to her ideals.
But how could she? She had sacrificed her ideals just to exist. America sold her soul just to survive. She was not born of purity, justice and equality. She was forged in a dark room by sweaty men with rotten teeth. Their skin color doesn’t matter. They did what all men of every shade have ever done when building an empire. They vanquished and enslaved those who were different. Then, amongst themselves they schemed, threatened, punched, kicked, and murdered, carving her up into chunks they could rule for their own profit. They wrapped the land of opportunity in a beautiful myth, then sold her to other men, who for generations would come from all ends of the earth to take their shot with her. And she delivered.
Now the children of those men are grown and growing, but they’re not satisfied with the dream. They too want the myth to be real. They bought the sales pitch about justice and equality- and to be sure, there is more of both here than in the countries their fathers fled. But to confuse the myth with the dream is like confusing sex with love. Sure, the one is better when you have the other, but sometimes you're just getting fucked.
So how can i begrudge her? I confused the dream with the myth. Just like Langston Hughes did. Just as we all do. She owes us nothing. She gives what she was designed to give. Anything more is up to us.
-AVK
