Almost two and a half centuries ago
a bunch of guys got together
"We're going to build a nation.
"We will write down the rules
by which this new nation
And we will obey those rules
choose to rule Ourselves."
That had never been done before
in the history of Planet Earth.
had the colonies of an empire
said to that empire,
"We will not be ruled by you.
We will be a free people.
And we shall rule ourselves."
Well, people had said that.
But they'd never made it stick.
The rest of the world laughed.
"The People cannot rule themselves.
Your experiment will fail.
if the American experiment did not fail
it would mean The People could rule themselves
This thought frightened the kings.
But for almost two hundred and fifty years
it looked like we would succeed.
Truth be told, we had a hard time of it
around 1860
after fighting what was then
the bloodiest war the world had seen.
and survived another century and a half
this backwoods tidal estuary
became the world's only remaining superpower.
We survived another century and a half,
won two world wars
We survived another century and a half,
Now, we face our greatest threat.
perish from the face of the Earth?
We are at risk.
We are at war.
Democracy is not for spectators.
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(I’m flattered to have been put into the Community Spotlight. I’m gratified that I’ve started a conversation below. Yes, a poem glosses over lots of wrong, and lots of right, but poetry and myth are about spiritual truths. If I wanted to write a historical essay, I’d have done that—and, I suspect, raised no less disagreement, even had I included all the various caveats elegantly described below. In any case, I thank all who took the time, and who will take the time, to respond. I thank even more any who are moved to action, for whatever reason, in defense of our nation and of democracy in the face of encroaching neo-feudal fascism.)