SIX DEGREES OF 9/11

 

     Six degrees of 9/11 begins with the NSA scandal,
Disclosing extensive snooping on US - and foreign "others,"
     Coincidental with Paula Deen's "I is what I is" tour, "apologizing,"
For using the "N" word; well...but...because...she's a Southerner!

 

     To the Brethren who cleared a path for homosexuals,
To have, "what therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder,"
     But those same Nine struck down part of the 1965 Voting Rights Act,
"Our country has changed," the pronouncement of the Chief Brother.

 

     The Trayvon Martin-George Zimmerman case showed US otherwise,
Neighborhood watch by definition is to keep "others" out,
     Young, black male, unarmed, dressed in a hoodie, ends up dead,
"Stand Your Ground" perpetrator freed because of reasonable doubt.

    

     Progress on immigration reform once promising, now stalled,
Securing the borders? Path to citizenship? Congress playing what and who goes first,
     In a melting pot nation built on welcoming all "others,"
Sending the message: "Keep Out" - your American Dream bubble has burst.

 

     With Judge Shira Scheindlin's decision, we come full circle,
Back to NYC, and its implementation of "stop and frisk,"
     Twelve years later, a country still terrorized by its fear of "others,"
Unable to balance personal freedom, privacy - against actual public risk. 

 

     As we celebrate the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington,
While allowed to bring less and less into an NFL stadium,
     Let US reflect on the dissonance of our national cognition,
And find our way out of this "other" conundrum.

 

Karen Ann DeLuca