It was seventh grade at Linden Elementary School my Music teacher, Miss Cyphers and my Social Studies Miss Jamison were teaching their classes the ideals and ideas of freedom, pride and honor. It was the mid 60’s and great strife had been erupting around the nation, issues of equal rights, civil rights and prejudice were being argued and debated. Both teachers must have felt an urgency to help explain to the kids enrolled at Linden School just how important patriotism was, but that patriotism does not come naturally. In Music class we learned the song ‘This Is My Country’ (music by Al Jacobs, lyrics by Don Ray) and in Social Studies class we broke down the lyrics to that song to identify what living in my country really meant. “This is my country land of my birth”, “This is my country, land of my choice”. Both phrases were sung and Miss Jamison explained that people can be born into a nation assuming the rights and privileges or people can choose to become a citizen and respect all the rights and privileges provided. Either way said Miss Jamison, in America we should never take for granted what history has taught us about this nation and how this nation became great. Miss Cyphers added that because we are free we must never take for granted that freedom will last; indeed she added we must work hard to pursue its legacy. I had never thought much about not being free. I watched on television the struggle within the Negro communities in the US trying to gain freedom and equality, I listened as my parents worried and wondered who might be next to be denied justice, and I thought deeply as deeply as a seventh grader possibly could how all this Negro/White struggle might affect me. If this was my country, was it also the country for the Negros? If this was my country did the Negros have the same freedom as me? If this was my country then why was there so much anger, mayhem and murder for the Negros, if in fact this was their country also? It was troubling but I being starry eyed and listening to the wonderfulness as espoused by Miss Cyphers and Miss Jamison toward this nation was certain all of this chaos would find resolution. It is 2013, and I still hear the tune and the words to “This Is My Country”, and I am not sure if the lyrics really resonate with truth. I was lulled into thinking that when we elected our first Black president of the USA we finally found ourselves in a place of equality. But it seems that instead of striving for peace and commonality, the election of Barack Obama opened up angry sores of discontent, division and discrimination. From elected official denying the birth right of the president, to strict undemocratic voter ID laws discouraging minorities the right to vote, to the uptake of white supremacy volatile verbiage, this is my country seems to have transformed into this is not your country. Suddenly being black is bad. Suddenly we find ourselves once again saying division is better then inclusion. Throw in the falsehood that some religious dogma provides, families who never teach tolerance and a bunch of politicians catering to the dredges of their parties, race has become a scary, threatening issue. Freedom, fair, justice and equality are amazing components that have helped make this nation great, but I am reminded by both Miss Cyphers and Miss Jamison that we must never take them fro granted. With the death of Trayvon Martin the innocence of George Zimmerman, we as a nation are witnessing a very dispassionate description of democracy. The lyrics to “This Is My Country”, somehow seem obsolete when in fact after all of these years that song has been around should make more sense. Perhaps we should call upon Miss Jamison and Miss Cyphers for one more lesson plan.
Posted on: Thu, 18 Jul 2013 17:17:20 +0000
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