Below are my thoughts for this Independence
Day. I often have a lot to say and I make it my business to speak up about
topics that matter to me. I am a firm believer that every voice has power. One
does not have to own a large or public platform to send a message. When you see
something, say something. Every voice has impact. Each voice can help at least
one. May God Almighty heal America and bless this land and country. May your
smile return, my fellow Americans.
THE COUNTRY THAT MADE ME LOVE IT
An African parable says, “If house don’t
sell you street will not buy you.” I do not like the current image being
painted of the United States of America on canvases worldwide. The horrific
practice of slavery was abolished in the United States of America in 1865. We
are in the year Two Thousand and Twenty (2020 AD); twenty years and seven
months into a new millennium signaling the 21st century, and 155
years since the abolition of slavery. Since its founding, America has held its indomitable
place on the globe. In local vernacular we would say America is the “big
brother” for every country. Yet, today, as far as history will record, America
is being displayed before the watching world as a nation unable to honorably
navigate the waters of racial diversity within its population. The narrative is
being thrown around that the American Institution (the System) is a racist
entity to the core, so egregious the only way to repair it is to tear it down and
replace it with another system. Jesus! Lord Have Mercy.
America, you may not have experienced the
repercussions of what civil war, internal conflicts, and rebel activities can
do to a country and a way of life. Ask me. Ask any Liberian who was grown
before 1979-80. We know. We live the scars today. Every Liberian immigrant throughout
the Western diaspora knows. It has been 40 years and we are still, for the most
part, wanderers. Our past, present and future, our heritage, our lineages, our
uniqueness, the incessant toil and heroic sacrifices of the founding fathers, our
beautiful history—all evaporated overnight. We went from being the most
peaceful country in West Africa to a ghastly, bloody predawn military Coup one
week after Good Friday 1980, preceded by violence, anarchy and chaos in 1979. It
started just like I am seeing all around today in America. May I add, all of it
was well orchestrated and carefully manipulated, shouting “systemic
suppression and oppression for over 100 years and we are tired of this
oppressive system.” Following nine years of military rule and dictatorship, a fourteen-year period of atrocious rebel-activity civil wars erupted. Peace time would eventually return but with looming economic disasters and rebirth of massive corruption and failed policies worse than ever before. There is a vast disunity between the populace with hatred, bitterness and anger widespread. This is happening with people of the same race. Reconciliation has proven impossible to achieve. Talk about bigger problems. Oppression and suppression are real now.
The parallelism of the two countries makes me shiver. America,
find another way to tackle the issues. You are playing with fire. You are not
too great to self-destruct. Up to this day Liberians have found no solutions. What
we do know is the irreparable losses. We know the constant degradation of a
once beacon of hope in Africa. We know we’ve lost our Liberia as we once knew
it. Even the embers no longer burn. Liberians, many of whom are Africa’s
finest, have resigned ourselves to be immigrants and second class citizens in
whatever country we are blessed to now reside. The situation is hopeless beyond
our capacity to acknowledge. The more work is done to revive our fledgling
country, the worse the country gets. Since that 1979-1980 debacle the nation
keeps getting it wrong, one president after another. What is most distressing
is that the poverty-stricken, suffering, masses in the country believe they have
been released and are free from oppression. I guess they are liberated. Sometimes
it is hard to see the shackles once they are so tightly hinged. Only God we cry
out to now. It will take Divine intervention to restore Liberia. Only prayer
and God.
I love this country, my beloved America. All
I know is this, civil conflict, violence, anarchy and widespread chaos are
archaic methods for solving “systemic” problems. Whether or not the depth of
the problems is real or perceived. Times have changed. Besides, racism is a
matter of the human heart. It is a condition of the person who carries it. No
system can remove racism from those who have determined to wear it; individual human
beings hold within this vitriolic characteristic. If the hearts of the people
do not change, the society formed by people will not change. Regardless of skin
color every heart carries some form of racism and prejudice. Fires won’t
quench it. Only God can change the human heart.
America, turn back to God. The problems in
your midst stem from America’s bold, irresponsible and reckless removal of a national
regard for God Almighty from your land. You have forgotten that the Universe is
owned by the Creator. No nation on the face of the earth, including the great
United States, could stop an invisible, microscopic menace called Coronavirus
from ravaging the population today. America dares to eliminate reverence for
the Creator from your public spaces. You dare quench it in private settings by
cunning and crafty methods. You believe Almighty God will forever bless you
with greatness while you diminish him and make him the lesser of the least of
gods. Jehovah is the God of all gods. There is a way you can incorporate Almighty
God in your public space without making it of political relevance. You are the
great USA. You know how. Hear me. The world will forever be ruled by a force for
good or a force for evil. Almighty God is good.
As an immigrant, if I may, out of my own
ignorance, ask this: Is America engulfed in flames, literally or real, one
beautiful city after another, because it has fundamentally denied attention to glaring
systemic racial inequality? Is this a true and accurate representation of the
United States? I realize there are enough arguments on both sides to hold infinite
debates. My unchangeable viewpoint is no. This is not a true or accurate
picture of America. Certainly, this is not where the United States of America is
in 2020. This is absolutely not how America should be characterized in the 21st
century. The United States of America is not a racist country.
Are there pockets of racist clusters? Yes.
Are there systemic errors that need to be weeded out and corrected? Absolutely.
Are there institutional defects? Certainly. Are there flaws in the society? Numerous.
Are there people who practice racism against one another? Definitely. Is there ingrained
prejudice among the races? Positively so. Is there often deep intolerance for
one another among people within the same race? Agreed. Does the System hold you
back completely from advancing one's life regardless how hardworking,
focused, and determined a person is? Not so. Is anyone denied opportunities to
prosper and create a better life for oneself strictly based on the color of your
skin? Absolutely Not. In the instance a person’s basic human rights and dignity
are violated, are they denied legal redress or access to seeking justice?
Never. In Liberian colloquial we have a common saying, “you must talk so you
talk so.” This means you must speak the truth as it is on both sides.
The United States of America. How did this happen? Seemingly,
the verdict is in: America is guilty of systemic racism and stands condemned before
the entire world. In the great USA. How could this be? America. The land of the
free and the home of the brave. The greatest country on the face of planet
earth. A country whose citizens are the envy of over half of the world’s
population. America. A country that has forever opened its borders to people—all
races, creeds, religions and ideologies—seeking a new life. America. A nation
known for inviting immigrants, especially, the least and poorest, fleeing persecutions
in its various forms. The United States. A land where people of every race,
color, and skin tone have found a second chance to live their lives to its fullest.
The country that affirms a rejected citizen’s worth and gives you the tools to
scoop out possibilities and maximize your potential. America. The lone country
on the Globe known for globally evangelizing the world about Jesus Christ the
source of permanent peace.
The United States. The country that has
brought light through prolifically spreading the Gospel by sending missionaries
all over the world to help others see the light, and visionaries to help emerging
societies create a better, more civilized, world. Albeit, a few other "naries" and many eye raising questionable acts along the way. Good and bad lumped together America emerges a great and wonderful country. Is it perfect, no. Is it perfect,
yes. There is no other country on the planet that tops the United States in the
matter of being my brother/sister keeper. America takes everybody in and
reminds them that they are somebody. Otherwise, perfection is a state only God
can be.
Let me say. The United States is the most powerful nation
under the sun. All things considered. America is still the greatest nation on
planet earth today. God ordained it to be this way. America is uncompromisingly an example of what it means to live in a free and fair society. I am an immigrant American citizen,
born and raised in Liberia, West Africa (same present day disintegrated
country with Monrovia the capital city). I am Black. I am minority in America,
three times over. In America it has been that my being Black does not matter.
In America it has been that my being Black does matter. Both statements are accurate.
I remain resolute in saying the United States of America is absolutely the greatest
country in the world. Let it continue to evolve. No revolution.
If you love America you cannot help but be
a bit saddened by current events in this nation. How did we get here? What is the way forward? What is the
honorable way forward? I pray God grant Divine intervention. Citizens of the
United States please rise up in prayer and faith to trust a new day. Your country needs your prayers and hope.
May this July Fourth, Independence Day,
reignite our regard for the freedom we sometimes take for granted. May
Independence Day set us free. Free to think critically and objectively. Free to worship as we please. Free to speak our minds.
Free to agree and disagree, respectfully. Free to embrace our complex differences and rise above them. Free to recognize where
one person’s rights end the other person’s rights begin; where one person’s
rights begins the other person’s rights end. Free to know when we are no
longer free. And to recognize the difference. As Americans our love and our
laughter will remain. Pain takes time to subside, but God and time heal every
wound. Be American. Stay American. Love America. Preserve America. It is a
great country. Always remember, of the 7 billion people on the earth today you
are privileged to live in a country like this. Much love from my end.
God Save the United States. God Forgive the
United States. God Bless, abundantly, the United States. Happy July Fourth.
~HortenseInspiration
(DO IT FOR CHRIST)
Blessings and Peace,
Hortense Duarma
Grimes
Servant of the
Living God
Founder, Do It
For Christ Ministries
Creator,
HortenseInspiration Media
Dreambearer &
Dreamcarrier, Solace Africa
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