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Photo by: Doug BeasleyIt was seven years ago today that the tears on the face of Lady Liberty were infused with ash. The heat of despair burned her cheeks and the world wept. Ms. Liberty and I have decided to take a moment to sit on the dock of life and skip stones.
As we sit on this old wooden dock, we look beyond our dangling feet into the waters below. There we see the glimmer of sun glittering on the surface. But when we dare to look deeper, breath deeper, we see our reflection. The faces staring back at us tell stories from times past and time present. It tells of the worries written on our foreheads and the laugh lines crinkled in our cheeks. But today, today we see the dew in the corner of eyes and in the moisture of heart break, we skip stones.
It wasn't a day all to long ago when life was humming as usual. The children of Lady Liberty were playing in the streets and life was safe. But it was on this day that a new wind flew in and burned our security to the ground. It crumpled, in moments, the walls that centuries built. We use to think we were the global Superman, the world super power; we were invincible. We had adequate strength training, intelligence, charisma, wealth, health, ingenuity and freedom. But what we failed to realize, was that it was these same things that we used to spell our freedom, that were indeed our very shackles. As we heard the clanking of chains and the struggle to break free loomed on, we skipped stones.
There are voices from somewhere in the distance. These voices are speaking of peace and change. The voices are speaking of peace and change and yet there is no peace in their change and no change in their peace. The words that are coming from speakered boxes are trying to memorialize this day. We cry and pray with these words today as the voices merely hum on.
When we look back at our reflection beyond us, we see faces we vaguely recognize. We see eyes that yearn for hope but gloom that resembles devastation. What's different today than what was on that yesterday? What change has brought peace and what peace has brought chains? What really has changed when the talking mouths say peace and their actions say war? What really has changed when our ego's are as big as before? What semblance of change can we possibly muster from a country that spends weeks on lipstick luster? Are we safer today than that fateful one? Are we happier today with what we've done? Red or blue, D or R, it doesn't matter if we don't know what it's for! We can make promises of change or promises of peace, but when all we're doing is giving political dogs their bones, then our hateful empty words are just skipping stones.
On the reflection of yesterday, our words are just skipping stones. We disgrace this place, this day, yesterday, with words of hate. Why haven't we yet figured out that it's not us against them. It's just US. We are all just US...the United States...not the divided states. This isn't a notion of blissful thinking, it isn't a mere pipe dream - this is a human thing, a people thing and at the end of the day, its all a God thing.
Two Stanza's from Otis Redding's, Sitting on the Dock of the Bay
So I'm just gonna sit on the dock of the bay
Watching the tide roll away
Ooo, I'm sittin' on the dock of the bay
Wastin' time
Look like nothing's gonna change
Everything still remains the same
I can't do what ten people tell me to do
So I guess I'll remain the same, yes
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