Happy 4th of July: Patriot Dreams

Patriot Dreams

©2015 Susan Noyes Anderson

I grew up in the golden years

when WWII was finally past.

A grateful country shed her fears

as fighting men came home at last.

We stood united, bold and brave,

inspired by freedoms we could name,

allied with nations we helped save,

and fair to those we overcame.

We worked together for one goal

Americans held fervently:

a union that was strong and whole,

a nation that was proud and free.

The means were often in dispute,

but one great end was crystal clear:

to crown with good and brotherhood

a land we all chose to revere.

We took a little, gave a little,

compromised to get things done.

Sometimes we met right in the middle

to ensure the country won.

Hard work was valued and rewarded;

independence was the prize.

Industry was praised, not thwarted.

All our hopes were on the rise.

Flags were flown and pledges spoken.

Songs of freedom filled the air.

Patriot dreams were still unbroken.

Faith waxed stronger than despair.

Values laid a sure foundation.

Cynicism held its tongue.

Firm resolve, not resignation,

was the gift we gave our young.

A land of dreamers? Yes, indeed.

Idealists? Sure, we aimed high.

Believing that we could succeed,

the limit was our starry sky.

But hope gave way to animus.

When did our vision lose its reach?

The answer lies in each of us.

Our children practice what we preach.

The love of country starts at home.

It’s learned upon a parent’s knee.

No patriot is born alone.

Beginnings frame our destiny.

Who trades belief for bitterness?

This nation thrives when men are true.

Commitment is not hit or miss.

The dream is ours. We'll see it through.

Walk tall on Independence Day.

Our liberty was bravely earned.

The path is clear. Let no one say

too many bridges have been burned.

Our land remains our land, and free.

Problems abound, but we are strong.

In order to claim victory,

we must believe. We must belong.

Respect and honor differences,

then focus on the things we share.

Negotiation is the key.

We get it right when we fight fair.

Fairness requires an open mind,
a listening ear, a lack of guile.



Why not leave enmity behind
 to serve our nation with a smile?

And as the fireworks light the stars,

give thanks to those who went before.

Their legacy, uniquely ours,

demands the best in us…and more.

Be brave; be loyal, and be true.

Ring bells; sing anthems; blow a horn.

Embrace this land of ours and prove

that patriot dreams can still be born.


HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY!
Long may she wave.

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What's Wrong with the World

Lately I find myself almost unwilling to turn on the news. When I overcome this aversion and flip it on anyway, I often end up wishing I had not. Negativity reigns, and one story after another delivers enough bad joss to leave me asking myself two questions: (1) What's wrong with the world? and (2) When on earth is it going to get back on track? Even worse, the list of "wrong" things is growing so fast that I am increasingly convinced the answer to question #2 may be "Never."

No wonder my blood pressure is on the rise! Ebola, ISIS, health care crisis, Congress run amok, war, lame duck (getting lamer all the time)…and no immigration reform or budget balancing in sight. What's a concerned citizen to do?

Well, one thing we should not do (though the prospect sorely tempts me at times) is throw up our hands in dismay and surrender to the prevailing tide. As Americans, we still have a voice, and we need to use it. With elections in sight, we should speak our minds by voting our conscience. This means knowing enough about the candidates and issues to ensure that we have a conscience to vote! Knee-jerk voting along party lines can no longer suffice; we must analyze each person and proposition closely in order to make the best possible judgments––informed judgments, and not just informed by a biased news station or celebrity, but by our own research. When no candidate or proposal satisfies, we can identify and support the lesser of two evils, using the next two or four years to keep track of how frequently he or she represents us well and how frequently we are let down. If we are let down too often, we can react by letting our representatives down when the next election rolls around.

Of course, it's not ideal when the field of candidates makes us want to run full speed in the other direction. Election reform is definitely called for, reform that makes it possible for people to be elected to public office without having to sell their souls to the highest bidder or pretend to be someone they're not in order to get financing. Some civility in campaigning would be nice too, so that decent and relatively "normal" people might actually be willing to step up to the plate and lend us their talents. Equally appealing, what if opponents quit trying to label and villainize each other (because we, the citizens, refused to be distracted by that) and focused on the issues at hand? What if we did the same?

Enough said. I know there's no magic bullet; there rarely is. But I also know that hard times are probably here to stay. If we don't rise to the challenge, we will keep falling––and failing to live up to our legacy as a nation. We are better than this. We have to be. So when we ask ourselves "What's wrong with the world?", let's make sure we are more of the solution and less of the problem. And let's remind ourselves that it all begins with one person…You. Me. (us)

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Glory Days: A 4th of July Poem

Glory Days: A 4th of July Poem

©2014 Susan Noyes Anderson

Declaration of Independence.
Pilgrims' feet, well-planted.
Heritage and brave forefathers:
all taken for granted.

Continental Congress,
Articles, Confederation.
Patrick Henry, Paul Revere:
heroes of our nation.

Words forgotten in a breath:
"Give me liberty or give me death."
"English coming," warning ride.
Things revered now tossed aside.

Thomas Jefferson turned knave,
fresh dirt thrown into his grave.
Lots of blame to go around:
so much lost; so little found.

Citizens left in the cold.
Congress putting them on hold.
(Keepers of one dream: their own.)
Unity stripped to the bone.

Cynicism honed as art,
curling into every heart,
smothering the hope within.
Are we out or are we in?

Shall we sing or shall we sigh?
Will our glory pass us by?

∞§∞

I sincerely hope it will not pass us by.
Our nation's strength is her citizens.
And this American is all the way in.

Happy Independence Day!

{some things will always be worth fighting for}

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Broad Stripes and Bright Stars

Broad Stripes and Bright Stars
©2014 Susan Noyes Anderson

We reverenced the flag when I was a young girl...

proud and strong we stood, hand over heart.

Deep emotions were raised as we saw it unfurl;

our allegiance was pledged from the start.

We were taught by our parents' example...

their knowledge that freedom was fragile at best.

They had seen evil threaten the world and

defeated it soundly when put to the test.

Liberty was an essence that sang in their blood

for the blood of brave countrymen slain,

and the flag was a symbol of all we had lost

and a tribute to all we retained.

From ocean to ocean, our voices were raised

in an anthem proclaiming our worth.

As heroes had given their all, so would we,

in upholding the land of our birth.

We honored the flag and the nation it stood for.

We sang, and we pledged, and we stood.

We were grateful enough to hold sacred a symbol

defining our country as good.

Today things are changing. So many young people

just watch the parade passing by.

They stay in their seats or stand carelessly slouched,

quite unstirred by our flag in the sky.

Our patriot songs are less known and less sung,

our allegiance less fervently vowed.

Cold winds of dissension blow harder each day,

and the roar of contention is loud.

If united we stand and divided we fall,

then survival demands common ground.

Our roots lie in legacies, planted by love

of the country our forefathers found.

True freedom is more than the right to dissent;

it's respect for the things we can share.

When the patriot dream seems elusive, our flag

carries hope that the dream is still there.

Those broad stripes and bright stars are reminders.

Embrace them. They help us to know who we are.

In peace or in conflict, they fly on a standard,

and we must keep raising the bar.

On Memorial Day, as we reverence our dead

and remember brave souls, let's be clear:

We live in a land that requires our devotion

and honor each day of the year.

A nation is fed by the people it nurtures,

and all of us drink the same cup.

Our stories are told in the symbols we share.

May every heart treasure them up.

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A Fading Sky

Supermoon, Julio Cortez, 2013, AP

A Fading Sky

©2013 Susan Noyes Anderson

They came: the tired, the poor, the yearning masses,

the flood of people reaching for one moon––

sharing a dream that lived and died in snatches,

mercurial as air in a balloon––

inflating, rising, dipping, begging patches,

blown-up and bursting with sweet freedom's tune.

Their voices soared across the purpled mountains;

their footsteps turned and tilled the fertile plains.

They slaked their thirst in rivers, sipped from fountains,

sucked liberty into their seeping veins;

laid down new roots, too numerous to count them,

scattered upon the wind the seeds of change.

Our Lady greeted all, and still she stands,

holds torch aloft against a fading sky,

whispers to suitors born in distant lands

promises kept or broken on a sigh.

Hope is the light that flickers in her hands,

as fragile, strong, and free as you and I.

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Glory, Glory Hallelujah: Let Freedom Ring

©2013 Susan Noyes Anderson

Our history is  glorious.

Why should we not stand proud?

And yet, today, so many feel

that pride is not allowed.

Can our missteps obscure the truth

that much of what we've done

has nurtured peace and freedom

in the lives of everyone?

If we have made mistakes (we have),

does that erase the good?

How many threats to freedom

have our valiant hearts withstood?

We are Americans, the

keepers of our legacy.

The way we view ourselves predicts

the nation we will be.

Our country runs imperfectly;

we're learning as we grow.

But let us not forget that greatness,

forged so long ago.

Our heritage ennobles us.

Allow it room to breathe!

Set free the roots of who we are;

drink deeply and believe...

In Give me liberty or death,

in Stars and Stripes Forever,

in melting pots and second shots

and dreaming BIG, together.

United, stand. Divided, fall

 in this land of the free...

not one in practice, nor in thought,

but one in liberty.

Embrace the tired, the poor, the masses...

raise that torch up high.

And when our country's colors burst

against the summer sky,

Remember to salute with pride

the things they signify.

The happiest of Independence Days to all you patriots out there!

Let's keep that love of country alive.

=)

It's become almost politically incorrect these days to voice pride in our country. 
I'm going against that tide here, because I don't like where it's leading us. 
Taking pride in our country used to be lauded as patriotism.
Now it's being reframed as "American exceptionalism," 
and we are made to feel guilty about it.
Pride doesn't have to be arrogance.
I'm proud of my children, as well,
but I don't think they're perfect.
(Though they are, indeed,
exceptional . . .) 

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