We don’t get to pick our family Or the country in which we’re born Most families are quite imperfect High praise will seldom adorn
Our country acts as, in absence of, A national family We’ve come together as mighty fist To overcome tragedy
Just as you have complained about; The faults of sister and brother; The arbitrary dad’s imperfect justice; The imperfectly care-worn mother
So it is with the family national Not every behavior good Complaints and suggestions are rational Don’t banish before understood
One’s right to protest what isn’t good For the national family A founding right that’s understood Wherever that protest be
Some family members are not all good Most not prone to riot Some bring dirt to the nation’s house While others stay, clean, and quiet
If you demand “protestors leave” You fail to understand There’s no place to go but home And clean the dirt that demands
National attention not just blind scorn Your so self-righteous display You can help with hearts reborn To clean or get out of the way
My response to the Colin Kaepernick protest of police brutality. I had to rethink my stance when the Chelsea Bomber, a terrorist, weeks ago was shot wounded but not killed. Intentional? Why then are Black men with no offending evidence (other than skin color) killed without consideration of potential innocence? What's wrong with my country? Why do I fear for my African-American adult son?