See Disclaimer.
Today’s mid-term elections are important beyond words. In one thing, President Trump is right: We should vote as if he were on the ballot. This makes the voting equation really simple: We must flip Congress blue, to give country and world a chance. We should also give states blue governors and majority-blue legislatures.
As an independent, who favors a multi-party system, making this binary choice (and not for the first time) is not comfortable. But it is the right choice, or at least the only I can make at this time in good conscience. I have explained my reasoning in an article entitled ‘Do we have it on us?’–a natural sequel to what I have been writing in this blog since 2017.
The blog was originally motivated by (and hopefully remains true to) the belief that our commonalities as Americans far exceed our differences. Integral to this belief is the hope that, if we just give ourselves the time and opportunity to listen to each other, we stand a real chance to ultimately find consensus solutions to effectively address most challenges we face.
But what I had never done before, is to say what I believe and hope-for in verse. Below is my first attempt at political poetry, and an extremely rare attempt at poetry of any sort. Somehow, the moment calls for it. By tonight, my verses might come across as naive. Or they might reflect the renewed hopes of many of us–or at least the first step towards those hopes. I will take my chances:
I am no poet,
But I wish I were.
Perhaps then I could proclaim,
With grace and power,
What I feel deep inside:
Good morning, America!
Today is the day!
Armed with our mighty pens,
We will clearly say:
Enough is Enough!
Give us back the country
That we all can call ours!
No more divisions,
Just because someone claims,
That it is ‘us versus them’!
Let us one and all,
Come together again,
Simply as Americans!
Let us value decency and truth,
Let us repudiate hatred and lies,
Let us dream again,
The American Dream!
— Antonio Baptista
