A Good Day for the Liberty of All Human Beings

I read both the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights today. I've never been prouder to be an American, even with all the baggage and difficulties it brings. It's harder than we thought to be the good guys, the white hats. In the face of opposition, reluctance, terror, threats and hypocrisy, I can still say God bless America even as I ask God to bless the whole human race.

I'll keep on saying it, so long as we stand for the rights and needs of the oppressed, the downtrodden, the beleaguered and disadvantaged. As much as it might pain me to say it, Uncle Walt had it right all along.

I Hear America Singing

Walt  Whitman

I hear America singing, the varied carols I hear,
Those of mechanics, each one singing his as it should be blithe and strong,
The carpenter singing his as he measures his plank or beam,
The mason singing his as he makes ready for work, or leaves off work,
The boatman singing what belongs to him in his boat, the deckhand singing on the steamboat deck,
The shoemaker singing as he sits on his bench, the hatter singing as he stands,
The wood-cutter’s song, the ploughboy’s on his way in the morning, or at noon intermission or at sundown,
The delicious singing of the mother, or of the young wife at work, or of the girl sewing or washing,
Each singing what belongs to him or her and to none else,
The day what belongs to the day—at night the party of young fellows, robust, friendly,
Singing with open mouths their strong melodious songs.