Oh! Brother POTUS...

[Alison P. Minto]

Today, being the 4th, we celebrate as 'Independence Day'. In the spirit of the day, the President proudly welcomed and swore in members of the military as new citizens of America. Brother POTUS then went on to talk about how great the migration of the millions of peoples from all over the Globe, has made the country, what it is today. Now, I am of the notion that 'Out of many, One people. However, as he (POTUS) spoke; he was recounting how the 'immigrants' arrived on these shores, and he actually said, that some of the immigrants even arrived on 'slave ships'. That threw me for a loop. As far as I know, the ones (mostly my ancestors) who arrived on these 'slave ships' were stolen and were not given the opportunities to even be 'immigrants'. I respectfully say this to point out that the major difference is that, no matter how we try to live as one at the moment; it is already ingrained into a lot of us; connected through our ancestors that being forced to work for free, oftentimes in the most vilest of conditions; being bought and sold as chattel; this does not to me add up to being 'like the immigrants', that have so proudly become naturalized citizens of this country. Lest we forget, we repeat. In today's economy we have to make sure that the horror that occured back then, does not slip under the radar, and become the norm. Everyone already knows 'Ourstory'; it is what gives us the strength and the hope, of better days to come. Yes, even after all this time. While the election of the first African American President says something, let us not loose sight of the fact that our arrival on these shores, cannot be looked at, as just that...

Just one question, out of many. How many of those who came over on the 'Mayflower' now rest on the bottom of the sea? (The Middle Passage).

[Thisis My Fullname]

Kind of off point, and late, two suggestions for music for this day might be

Handel, Music for the Royal Fireworks (If they'd won, and we'd followed the rest of the British Empire, slavery would've been abolished a generation sooner, minus a catastrtophic civil war, and I for one would have health coverage, short of the ER --which is very literally the available option), and Hendrix, 'Machine Gun,' from the original, live Band of Gypsies album.  (Always puts me in mind of the first couple of movements --that is, the really good part-- of Beethovens's 9th.  Where you can feel the whole zeitgeist being distilled through one great soul.  ...Who am I talking about? yes, and yes.)