This I Believe

This post was inspired by npr's program, This I Believe.



The other day I bought a handmade Alpaca wool poncho. My poncho reminded me of a time when my hero was John Wayne and my dreams were filled with cowboys, horses, rope, and yogurt. My biggest worry was avoiding the bathtub. I didn’t care about presidential candidates or illegal immigration. The term “politics” meant nothing to me. I can remember the pride I felt every morning in elementary school when we would recite the Pledge of Allegiance. "I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all." This was my America. This was my home. Underneath all the corruption, all the spite and envy, underneath the pain and the politics, this is a land of freedom. The words on the Statue of Liberty written by Emma Lazarus say, “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door." The United States of America is still my home. This I believe.