From Sea to Shining Sea
Rev. Chris Neilson
I was on the verge of a nervous breakdown this summer when all of a sudden it became crystal clear to me- I am in charge of nothing. Not the plane stalled on the runway unable to take off for an hour during thunderous rain storms, not the connecting flight that would leave without me, not the turnstyles that would spin without my luggage, not the venders who refused my vouchers. But at least this time, I was on my way home, without Sharon, (who was stranded in Chicago for the night) to a closet full of clothes and a full refrigerator.
Times like these, when we feel powerless, we feel we have no voice. I can no more stop the rain than I can will another plane seat to open so that Sharon and I could come home together. It was what it was.
It reminds me that this is how I’ve felt in this country the past several years. An endless war, a struggling economy, unaffordable healthcare and housing. We can forget that we have a voice and a vote, and that this land from sea to shining sea belongs to all of us. Not just those who can afford it, not just those who are able to buy land, not just those who have a federally issued ID, but all of ours.
It belongs to all of us and yet, it belongs to no one. Chief Seattle says, “who can own the air? Who can own the Sea?” Our ownership of this land comes at a great cost- on the backs of the native peoples who walked this country long before us. On the backs of the slaves imported from Africa to work the fields. It is their labor, their children’s labor to whom we owe our American debt.
Unless you have native or African blood, we come here as immigrants, hopeful for religious freedom and liberty, the very justice our forefathers dreamed for us that inspired our constitution.
No where does it say we must all be religious, read the same religious texts in order to be American. No where in the constitution does it say we must all speak in agreement.
It says the opposite- we are granted freedom to think, to speak, to dissent, to vote. It’s time to use those rights that are “self evident.”
So as we gather our water today from all our travels or adventures at home, let us claim that birthright. What do you want to take back in this country?
And yet, never is there a greater time of optimism- an African American presidential candidate, and female Vice President Candidate, or the most senior president candidate ever. I have to believe that whatever happens with our elections, that even Langston Hughes would feel hopeful What have you seen of hope and beauty?
Pour Water: My name is Chris Neilson and I pour this water in honor of the airlines that are struggling in this economy, though I’m tempted never to fly again, and for my nephew who is autistic and poor, and yet managed to graduate from high school this summer. That is beauty and hope to me.
I invite you to pour your waters into our common pool, where they will be used for blessings and rituals, and share what you see of hope, of beauty, and to name what you would like to take back.