Taking Liberty

Outside, feverishly chain smoking and pondering how we got here. Replaying an era in which distractions have replaced issues, and trying to grasp a country deeply fractured by sound bites and alternative facts. No longer an indivisible nation, but a nation of individuals all holding on to their own truths, no questions asked, no answers sought. Debate no longer an exchange of ideas in search of solutions, rather a contact sport with a winner and a loser. Void of the tenets that had united us, we now hold our fellow Americans in utter contempt.   

As I sift through these thoughts, I notice a dumpster just down the block with the word LIBERTY boldly painted across it. While the irony is unmistakable, I begin to wonder if we no longer understand the meaning of these words so brilliantly crafted in the creation of our nation. For years, businesses and politicians have co-opted these words, wrapping themselves in the American flag to market a sense of faith, trust and pride. Have these words become just like an overplayed pop song - a familiar melody that we all hum, yet the lyrics have escaped us?