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A country built on democracy and capitalism
a place where all voices can be expressed
a chance for all to make a living
by any means necessary.
The Great Melting Pot
is the country's proud moniker.
E pluribus unuma saying on all its currency,
repeated in oaths,
in one form or another,
a forgotten citation
as the voices of those in minority
rise and rise in volume
threatening the very concepts of democracy.
The lure of competition, capitalism,
the lust for money, to be the best,
the bleeding heart for the loud voice
of the smaller populace
denigrate the foundation of the country.
The democracy lessens as the social idea
blossoms, threatening the core.

We hide behind a mantra of
'political correctness' and look down upon
the tenets upon which our country was constructed.
We are losing our grip on reality, on how to live,
on what is right, on what is veracious.
We litigate when things go not as we desire;
we go behind the backs of our
brothers and sisters in order
to increase or improve ourselves;
how we look, what we possess, where we live,
all counting for more than how we act;
we complain about our plights even
as we refuse to help those more in need;
our myopia overwhelms our conscience
and we act not true to what is right,
but, instead, true toward what will be thought of us.

We are afraid to be alone, to stand alone, to think alone,
because it is perceived to be a flaw
and who wants a flaw to be exposed in this era?
Our fight for and celebration of the independence
we have is now laughable as we have become a nation
of malcontent co-dependents, unaccountables,
fence-sitting opportunists, on the ready
for our neighbor's misstep so we can raise ourselves.
We are losing sight of what is right and what is wrong
as we instead focus on a label or ideology that
misapplied or misused or misfocused.
We stand for morality even as we live immorally;
we judge others even as we lash out at being judged;
we have lost our simplicity as our
technology advances to dizzying heights and we
think ourselves as the Creators or Improvers
of all that is around us in Nature and the Universe;
we see differences instead of noticing similarities;
we hear what we want to hear instead of listening;
we reach for what we think is ours
instead of feeling what others feel;
we lift our noses in the air at others less fortunate than we
instead of smelling the decay of society;
we stick our tongues out at that which we do not understand
instead of tasting the incredible delights offered by others;
we take what we want instead of sharing what we have.

We are leaders of the world, the nation to which many
others look for guidance and emulation,
yet we are not worthy of the responsibility,
a responsibility upon which some of the major
foundations of this nation were erected.
We have taken this load for granted and
have used it to bully our way into the lives of others.
Slowly, but increasingly, other countries are
hoping to find another alternative to our bullying.
But, they are in the unfortunate position
of being at our mercy when negotiating with us.
So, we take advantage of our strength,
forcing our views upon the rest of the world.
We have sanctions against certain countries because
we have taken it upon ourselves to morally police
these countries because of their repugnant leaders,
many of whom are not even the choice of the people they lead.
So, we cause millions to suffer because of our
policing of countries and their leaders where
it should not be our business to police;
we too often take our role as world leader
further than it needs to be taken and we lose
sight of what is really being accomplished by these actions:
the sufferings of millions and millions of innocents.