Writer - Poet - Journalist - Novelist - Podcaster www . MichaelHarriot . com
Remember America continued from page 3
Because she was really good at enticing us to our own throat slittings , she would extend a scintilla of something that made you believe your dreams could come true . Maybe it was that 13th time she amended her Constitution . Or the 14th time . Or the 15th time . Or when she acted on civil rights . Or voting rights .
Or that one time - if you can think back to the show-your-teeth-in-the-supermarkets era - when you were almost done with believing in her possibility , she chose a man who was smarter , less corrupt and more charismatic than all his predecessors . But , because his skin refracted light a little differently ( the same way yours does ), America tried to convince you that this extraordinary act proved how much she had changed . She acted as if one election erased all her violent history like an Etch-A-Sketch in an earthquake . And there , under the glimmering , spectacularly lit birthday sky , you almost believed her … Almost .
But you know the America that we are experiencing now is the same America that freed the slaves , ended Jim Crow and elected Barack Obama . But it is also the same country that enslaved Black people , put a bullet in Martin Luther King ’ s jaw and elected a dimwitted , immoral blunderbuss of bullshit and racism . You , more than anyone else , understand that this country ’ s quest for normalcy and peace of mind is just a fantasy based on the Norman Rockwell that only existed in the gossamer memories of the patriotic hypocrites who benefitted from white supremacy .
You know that country is not a thing to love . It is just a place that holds a collection of people between lines on a map . You understand that it is stupid to love a particular piece of dirt based on a make-believe portrait of an America that , for Black people , might as well be a fictional character . Perhaps the most remarkable thing about this nation ’ s Black citizens is that we do not hate America .
We have always lived in a patch of grass and dirt that refused to count our votes and treated us like the residents of shithole countries . So we dedicate an astonishing amount of effort and energy to perfecting a union that has never displayed a nanosecond of love for us . America has kneeled on our necks , lied to our faces , manipulated the media against us , enriched itself by stealing our wealth and gaslit her patriotic admirers into believing that she has always been perfectly healthy .
“ Don ’ t let it dominate you ,” said America about the deadly virus of white supremacy . “ Don ’ t let it take over your lives . We ’ re the greatest country in the world .” I know you miss her .
However , it is easy to wax poetic about a beautiful , soaring trumpet solo that was written just for your ears . I imagine the melodies and harmonies are difficult to forget . But now that you ’ re the ones mopping up a floor slippery with spit , please : Remember , America .
Michael Harriot
Writer - Poet - Journalist - Novelist - Podcaster www . MichaelHarriot . com
Program Success 4 October 2020