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I

sn’t America weary? It seems most of us are overcome from news regarding heartbreaking stories of racism and a virus, both of which seem to not be easy to cure. 

 Doesn’t Christmas 2019 seem as if it were a 100 years ago? Today I wish I could return to the holidays to feel a family hug, or hear the carols sung in church, or be exhausted from baking cookies instead of handling this type of fatigue. It is funny how we genuinely don’t appreciate things until they become unattainable.

We are all weary from COVID-19 and witnessing heart-wrenching acts of bigotry and violence. America is one big ole’ mess of illness and emotion. As I type, I notice my American flag waving in the breeze out my office window. The brightness of the red, white, and blue seems as if it is trying desperately to lift my spirits and remind me of what she has been through while flying for years over my country. 

She has survived some nastiness in her day. She watched as folks died when fevers, viruses, and other illnesses swept her land. She held herself low when Presidents were assassinated, and soldiers fell at her feet while proudly hoisting her. She witnessed slavery come to her shores and waved triumphantly when it sailed away. She was tattered and split when civil war spilled the blood of her people over her grounds. She has viewed her citizen’s economy flourish and fall. Yet, she still flies eloquently above our land, reminding us, she has seen it all. She seems to never get weary from waving back and forth, seeking to breathe hope and spirit again into her America. 

There is something about our country that pulls us from our days of darkness and encourages us not to succumb to the evil that attempts to penetrate our soil. The cure for America is always our freedom. 

Freedom to pursue cures for the sick and vaccines for the future. Freedom to cast our votes and eyes upon new leadership. Freedom to rebuild with the power of our own hands, and freedom to worship so that we understand we must love all God’s people. We have the freedom to walk our streets in protest, to wave our banners, and to espouse our beliefs. We must maintain our freedom of the press to keep us informed, and finally, we have the freedom to change. 

We can unify our land if our flag reminds us that we are one color through God’s eyes and hers. Because we are Americans, we can shape who we are by listening, serving, and are willing to reconstruct our thoughts, hearts, and actions. We have worked hard before, we know sacrifice, and we will come up with solutions to make our old glory become a glorious new symbol for us all. 

Our citizens are weary, but we are the problem-solvers of the world. We need to get our self-indulgent, spoiled silly selves off the couch, get to work, and quit complaining. From every corner of this land, from that old sea to shining sea, we need to rise as one nation, under God, as it was intended. 

We must never believe that we are Republican or Democrat before we are American. We must understand that our flag represents equality for every American. If we allow ourselves to continue the polarization of our United States, we might as well take the flag down, fold it up, and put it away. At that point, America, as we know it, will be gone. This is the time to gather ourselves in our weariness and win the battle over division, intolerance, and injustice. 

We can be better, achieve more, and have another Christmas with hugs and cookies. However, each American citizen should provide a monumental effort to put our lives in order and care enough for each other to do the Godly right things to ensure that occurs. 

My mind returns to history and the soldiers of all colors who fought and died valiantly to defend our freedom. My ears still ring with the words of Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address. My heart continues to weep for those whose remains rest on other shores instead of their homeland. They gave all they could to keep us safe and allow liberty and equality to prosper. We must do the same, so their sacrifices are not in vain. Even though we are tired, we must rise to become the embodiment of what living under the waving American flag means. It means our freedom.

“That this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from this earth.” – President Abraham Lincoln