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“To be an American is to recognize the sacrifice of the widow and the orphan; it is to understand the weft of tent cities expecting caravans, and the heft of a child in a camp not meant for children, or sitting before a judge awaiting judgement. What do we say to the native whose lands we now inhabit? What do we say to our immigrant fathers who held certain truths to be self-evident? Do we now still pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes, our sacred honor. There are no kings in America. Only gilded men we can topple again and again.” — Aileen Cassinetto
To be an American is to
recognize the sacrifice
of the widow and the orphan;
it is to understand the weft of tent
cities expecting caravans,
and the heft of a child in a camp
not meant for children, or sitting
before a judge awaiting judgement.
What do we say to the native
whose lands we now inhabit?
What do we say to our immigrant
fathers who held certain truths
to be self-evident?
Do we now still pledge to each
other our lives, our fortunes,
our sacred honor.
There are no kings in America.
Only gilded men we can topple
again and again.