We hold these truths to be self evident, so we say
That all men — women, too? — are created equal
And we are all the same in the eyes of our Maker
Amen!
But may I also say Ameen?
Yet, much like Thomas, we persist in unbelief; worse, we do not practice what we preach
For the golden city on the hill is reserved only for some, and you learn that quickly when you are not one of them
The cold, dank cell is home only to certain people; “we” — most definitely — are not one of “them.” we tell our friends with just right amount of inflection
And we will find only “those” people in the cardboard box, warding off the cold in an underpass as majestic motors roar overhead; they carry the smiling — who are often the blind — into the next adventure that others will never know
We scoff when we are called out?
We are the good people who go to a house of worship each week and who write a check every now and then to some or another charity, so we will NOT be condemned!
Amen, we say, and we leave out that other “e.”
We take up flags — flags! — to take down our democratic icons
We take up arms —or sometimes the right chemical concoction — to kill; often the most vulnerable are the ones who die.
We react with a shrug.
We embrace the next distraction with the wonder of a child, blissfully unaware — or arrogantly uncaring — that only the few can enjoy this moment. We do because we deserve it; we earned it, and there will be more and more and more
Alleluia!
