From the Heart
“And in despair I bowed my head; there is no peace on earth, I said. For hate is strong and mocks the song of peace on earth good-will to men. Then pealed the bells more loud and deep; God is not dead, nor doth he sleep; the wrong shall fail, the right prevail, with peace on earth, good-will to men.”
– Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Mr. Longfellow wrote this upon hearing his son had been seriously injured during the Civil War. 1863.
158 years later the words are ever as much true today as they were then. Words written about a nation divided.
How? Just tell me how we became so divided? Oh, the blame is bantered back and forth. Fingers point. Voices shout, yet no one is listening.
Friendships are shattered. Families are divided.
Hurtful words are spewed that will never be forgotten. Sadly, forgiveness may never be an option for some.
We look to the future with fear and trepidation.
Power has corrupted what we have held so dear … liberty.
We are a nation where Lady Liberty now weeps.
We are watching life, as we have known it, liberty and the pursuit of happiness ripped to shreds by our divisiveness.
What do we say to our children? They are now a part of history that will forever be described as ugly.
Two wrongs don’t make a right. We’ve become so wrong, there is no finding the right.
Truth is shaded and lies are dressed to look like truth.
My heart is heavy. I’ve stayed away from the rhetoric. I refuse to join in the discussion on social media.
So many are guilty but I fear it is our children who will pay the price – a life sentence of despair because of the sins of the powers that be that are supposed to give them a future and a hope.
I pray I am wrong. I pray we turn back to one nation, under God, before it is too late. Please Lord, don’t let it be too late. There has to again be good-will to men. There just has to be.