Can You Hear Me Now

It was we, the people; not we, the white male citizens; nor yet we, the male citizens; but we, the whole people, who formed the Union. And we formed it, not to give the blessings of liberty, but to secure them; not to the half of ourselves and the half of our posterity, but to the whole people – women as well as men.

Susan B. Anthony

It annoys me when I read or hear the words “God bless the USA.”  My annoyance has nothing to do with God.  It has nothing to do with blessings, either.  I may not believe in a supernatural god, but I do believe in blessings. I see and experience them every minute of every day.

My concern has to do with limitations and exclusions.  Why does it have to be “God bless the USA” and not “God bless the world”?  If you believe in a god, do you really think that he, she, or it would say “These people are worthy of my blessing and these people are not”?  Can you imagine any parent saying “Bless my son, but not my daughter”?  I cannot.

Goodbye to my Juan, Goodbye, Rosalita

In 1948, Woody Guthrie wrote the song Deportee (Plane Wreck at Los Gatos) about the crash of an airplane filled with migrant workers being deported back to Mexico. Woody sings of their hard work, hardship, and love. It has been called “the last great song he would write, a memorial to the nameless migrants’ all scattered like dry leaves’ in Los Gatos Canyon.”

Here is one of the most poignant verses:

We died in your hills, we died in your deserts
we died in your valleys and died on your plains
we died ‘neath your trees and we died in your bushes
both sides of the river, we died just the same

Followed by:

The sky plane caught fire over Los Gatos Canyon,
A fireball of lightning it shook all our hills,
Who are all these friends, all scattered like dry leaves?
The radio says, “They are just deportees”

By saying “God bless the USA” are we saying let the rest of the world fend for itself?  Let those Mexicans (those unwanted “illegals” littered along the canyon floor) die for they are not our concern. They are “others” and others are not worthy of a real American’s compassion. Isn’t that the message I hear from the current Republican party? Isn’t that the message that helped win a presidential election?

All too often I see God and the American flag as interchangeable icons.  I have nothing against patriotism.  I also have nothing against the American flag. I truly love my country.  This is my home and I am constantly working to make it a better and more just place. I hope to leave this world knowing that my efforts made a positive difference for the country I call home.

However, I take offense when it is implied that there is a supernatural being that looks down on our planet and proclaims Americans as his people and the rest of the world as less worthy of love and care.  Even worse, we are told that it is a particular god of a particular set of beliefs. If it was my god, I would look to him, her, or it to bring us together and not drive us further apart. I seek a higher power that cares as much for migrant workers as he cares for me, a privileged white man.

Joy to the World

The New Colossus ends with these iconic words:

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!

As we fast approach American Thanksgiving, I am well aware of the many blessings in my life. I have had my struggles, but they pale when compared to my joys. I have never known poverty, prejudice, war, famine, or displacement. How different would life have been if I were born in one of the incoming president’s “shit hole” countries? Wouldn’t I yearn to breathe free? Wouldn’t I risk everything to find a place of safety for my family?

As the incoming president vows to declare a national emergency and deploy the U.S. armed forces to execute his mass deportation plans, we need to ask ourselves if we are willing to jettison the notion of who we have always proclaimed ourselves to be. Will we lift a lamp of love or will we carry torches of fear and hatred through the streets? Are we willing to rise up and shout, “Not on my watch”?

Charles Dickens got it right when he had Tiny Tim speak those immortal words, “God bless us, everyone.”  He didn’t say “God bless England,” “God bless my family,” or even “God bless Mr. Scrooge.”  He said “us” and he said “everyone.”  Even I, Andrew the non believer, can feel comfortable with that.

Joy to the world. Thank you for reading.

P.S.

I first heard Deportee (Plane Wreck at Los Gatos) on the Byrds’ 1969 album Ballad of Easy Rider. Since then I have fallen in love with several more renditions. If you are so inclined, take a listen to the song from Judy Collins, Arlo Guthrie, Pete Seeger, Nancy Griffith, or Dolly Parton. Every artist brings something unique to Woody’s poignant ballad.

Old faces
young faces
close by and faraway faces
the living and breathing
the cherished and sadly departed

With love in all shapes and conditions
with laughter, aspiration, hope, reflection, and hunger
one family forged from the tribes of many
tiny stars of the greater sky
thankful for the rich and bountiful harvest of being
lasting connections and grateful sweet fortune

Old faces
young faces
faces of every color and hue
called together for kinship and sharing
everyone welcomed
everyone blessed