Is it any wonder we have so much conflict

in the good, old U S of A?

Science tells us that we seek out friends who

are like we are, really okay

 

in voice, body and yes, smell. Was it because

the Dutch smelled that Ojibway

 

and Ottawa moved away…from the beautiful shore?

We make friends not rivals

with people with our own genes — probably a defense,

an instinct of survival.

So, is America, the Beautiful, beautiful for reasons

other than the revival

 

of appreciation of the national parks, the forests, lakes

and streams? Is America beautiful

because, unlike other places on earth, we have sought

beyond natural instincts to hearts bountiful?

 

The alerts go off in the little brains in our genes and we

start realizing that the differences

were there to help humans adapt to the environment and

survive and thrive and that’s all the differences,

 

which are there mean. Maybe, we should be giving thanks

that the conflict is there and out in the open

in spite of protests to the opposite, because now, unlike

any other time in our history, we are chosen

to deal with it and change the little brains in our genes,

expand our hearts to accept the notion

that they are all brothers and sisters who have come fleeing

or seeking a country open

 

to opportunity along these beautiful shores and across our

glorious deserts. And I? I must say goodbye

to the ghettos of my Viking and Bavarian birth, and embrace the

songs of English, Spanish, Thai,

 

Hindi, Keres, Tagalog, Senegalese, Hebrew and

oh, so many more

of those of different customs, clothes, colors and yes, smells, too,

who traverse sand and sea to be welcomed

with, “My Love, Mi Amor.”