Do you, too, sing America?

For the record, yes I voted. No, I wasn't very happy with many of the available options. I'd like to see us have ranked choice voting or maybe, switch to a parliamentary system. Or, maybe we could live in such a way that government is of very little relevance? Note that I wrote government, not governance.

St. Croix River on a chilly Autumn day

Photo by J. Harrington

I would be more concerned about the outcomes of today's voting except that I have hopes that Joseph de Maistre's (not Alexis de Tocqueville's) observation that "Every nation gets the government it deserves." might serve as a wake up call. And, if you've read prior postings here with any regularity, you've probably noted support for Edward Abbey's thought that "A patriot must always be ready to defend his country against his government." If the political pundits are correct, today's outcomes are likely to mean that many of us had best plan on becoming patriots while our rivers still flow to the seas.

After today, do you think we'll make it through our usual commercialized holiday season before the political ads for the 2016 presidential election start? Or, am I naive because those ads have started already? As we look ahead, no matter which side prevails today, if prevails is the term for continued gridlock, we all will do well to remember that others, too, sing America as they await their turn.

I, Too, Sing America

Langston Hughes, 1902 - 1967 

I, too, sing America.

I am the darker brother.
They send me to eat in the kitchen
When company comes,
But I laugh,
And eat well,
And grow strong.

Tomorrow,
I’ll be at the table
When company comes.
Nobody’ll dare
Say to me,
“Eat in the kitchen,"
Then.

Besides, 
They’ll see how beautiful I am
And be ashamed—

I, too, am America.

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