Lady Liberty

Chapter 10

"For all the dreams we've dreamed

And all the songs we've sung

And all the hopes we've held

And all the flags we've hung,

The millions who have nothing for our pay-

Except the dream that's almost dead today.

O, let America be America again." ~Langston Hughes, Let America Be America Again

She remembered simpler times.

Each day once held a new flare of excitement and adventure, as though life deserved to be cherished. And, as is often the case with children, even the smallest things filled her heart with unfettered joy. She recalled sunny strolls to the market, burnt scones, the scent of steeping tea, running barefoot on dewy grass, and laughing with such impassioned laughs that the earth seemed to smile along with her.

"England, why are we alive?"

She remembered when all she had sought was freedom-an untouchable land where one could live without worrying about aristocracies and the steel fists of tyrants. A sea of endless possibilities awaited her, and she shared her untamed liberty with the despairing masses of the Old World.

"Why are they fighting?"

Yet, despite all her efforts, she never achieved such equality for all. No matter what she did, there were always those who were left at the bottom of the ladder, struggling to hobble their way up. Maybe her desires for individualism and equal opportunity simply couldn't work hand-in-hand.

"Are those people tired from working in the fields all day?"

Oppression had long ingrained its toxic roots in her soil, and the questions she often posed were left unanswered with a flustered and fickle frustration.

"Who else will harvest our crops? They are different from us, America."

"But why?"

"You'll understand someday."

As far as she was concerned, they were one and the same.

"We shall overcome!"

Her people had taken to the streets again, and they would occupy them for many years to come. Unspeakable pride filled her during these movements, but she didn't dare to dwell on it for too long lest that same emotion of helplessness threatened to take over. Race had always been a shameful matter of contention buried just under the surface of the country, but it never managed to hold its head above water long enough to be addressed.

It was America's deepest embarrassment-a giant smear on her title as leader of the "Free World". Since before the Civil War it had severed her people, and the overwhelming remorse that America carried on her shoulders had the power to make her wish she'd never been a nation in the first place.

But then came John F. Kennedy, a shining beacon of hope for reforms that had been centuries overdue. The man was charismatic and born for his era. The public fell head over heels for him, and if anyone was in a position to grasp the opportunity for radical change, it was him.