I have been thinking about the promise of America. Others have pointed out that America has not lived up to her promise of being a beacon of light…and sadly this has been true on many occasions. You do not have to look far to see our failure to fulfill the Emma Lazarus poem, The New Colossus affixed to the base of the Statue of Liberty. Yet people are dying to come to America. Ms. Lazarus wrote in part, ‘With Silent Lips. Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled massed yearning to breath free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!’

Americas’ Promise captivates the hearts of marginalized and suffering and destitute people across the globe. One of the most lovely freedoms of the United States is its’ freedom of speech…freedom of the press. You can inform the Emperor that he is naked… We are called a Melting Pot due to our diversity. Our philosophy is that our differences make us stronger and wiser and fulfill our Elected Representational form of Government. If you do not believe that the people ultimately decided who their President is…just look to the last Presidential Election…

American is loud…and it is messy…and at times it seems chaotic…but it still shines as the hope for oppressed people across the earth. Our great sins of slavery and prejudice and oppression of minority populations are inexcusable and intolerable…yet we are still the country of ‘Rags to Riches’…we are still the nation of Horatio Algier… We are a nation of people who continue to examine ourselves and to seek a better way and to build a longer table rather than Gulags for our political enemies.

I have been a Christian for the majority of my life and yet have failed on numerous occasions. I have watched as many churches have become unrecognizable political/religious hybrids of the message of love and inclusion that Christ taught. Many times I have been disappointed in the religious life that I have encountered….but I have never given up on Christ.

Money and power corrupt men’s and women’s hearts and pervert the Dream of the United States….but the Dream lives on in millions of Americans…