The road to insanity is a dead end. It is littered with hate-mongering, bias, divisiveness, ignorance, and a plethora of guns—not hunting rifles but AK-47s, AR-15s, UZIs. This is the road my country is on, and it is careening down this road full speed. I am more than disgusted and saddened; I am disconsolate and despairing.
The other day, I was listening to a CD that my brother had given me. The last song was created from these words inscribed on the Statue of Liberty:
“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-tossed to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”
As I listened I cried for what we have lost—our humanity, our compassion, everything these words stand for. I am embarrassed and ashamed to be from this country so fearful of the Other.
The voices of reason are not used to shouting, but it is time to shout!