These Things: What is American?
Learn from the mistakes of others. You can’t live long enough to make them all yourself.
- Eleanor Roosevelt
Two years ago I started writing a poem about Independence Day and how riding a bicycle is freedom to me and I was trying to get these ideas to talk with one another so to speak. Now please understand, I don’t consider myself a political poet even though I accidentally made that one video poem to Dick Cheney called, “Birdwatching in the Hegemony (or that time Dick Cheney shot his friend in the face),” and this one too, just came out. The thing is, I don’t know how this works, I’m just a scribe trying to appease the gods.
You can listen to the poem below accompanied by a homemade cigar box guitar here.
It Happens All the Time
Once there was a group of people living in a place called America. These people were new to America and had the same blood as people who lived in a place called England. The people in England made up ideas about the people in America with the same blood and one of these ideas was to tell the people in America, “You must give us money because of the blood.”
The people in England just made it up and were very pleased. The people in America with the same blood as the people from England called this taxation without representation and didn’t agree that blood had anything to do with who they were. They were independent of the blood.
The people in England explained that they would come to America and take back the blood that was English from the people living in America who had the same blood as the people from England.
Blood is an important part of life and the process to remove blood from someone not willing to give it is called war. War takes no imagination but this is what happened next and it happens all the time.
These things inspired me recently…
as I’ve been overwhelmed that all the “great American 4th of July movies” lists are primarily about war. Aren’t we bored of war yet? I mean, aspirationally, as a country, haven’t we embraced some amazing ideas that have come forth from collaborations among people in our country? These things make me proud to be an American:
Sister Rosetta Tharpe performing “Down By the Riverside” - I love how she adds blues guitar with this gospel tune which eventually became American rock and roll. She’s been recording this tune since the late thirties, but I think this video is from the early 1960’s. Nothing more American. Learn more about Sister Rosetta Tharpe. Like many American musicians, she’s also from Arkansas.
“Cooling Time: An American Poetry Vigil” - Speaking of Arkansas, one of the most enigmatic and poetic American writers is also from Arkansas, C.D. Wright. Her poem-essays are beautiful and amazing. “Cooling Time” is a highly recommended summer read. I can hear cicadas when I’m reading this one.
“101 Most American Things” - One of my best friends sent this list to me earlier this week. It’s a fun look at some of the things many of us consider to be American.
“Jason Isbell and George Saunders Have an Epic Conversation” - George Saunders is considered one of the greatest American short story writers and Jason Isbell may be the greatest living American songwriter. This video is especially interesting to me as a writer and creative because they discuss their approaches to creating art. Highly recommended.
Jason Isbell Tiny Desk Concert - If you don’t know Jason Isbell’s amazing folk music (as he calls it since it’s driven by character narratives), this Tiny Desk Concert is a great intro to his music and personality.
Did you know that the Lomax folk recordings are all available online now. That’s a lot of folk music.
“Memorial Day and Wondering About War” - So, and because I do understand the history of our country involves war, the Memorial Day edition of The Morning Ride Pedal Podcast wonders through ideas that maybe not all who die fighting in war believe in the war their fighting.
“I Hear America Singing” - I can’t think of America and Independence Day without thinking of Walt Whitman’s fantastic (and short) poem where he catalogs the many lives of Americans illustrating to me that Indepence Day seems to be more about a people coming together than a people fighting a war.
Finally, I love these quotes from Martha Washington and Susan B. Anthony:
Cautious, careful people, always casting about to preserve their reputations can never effect a reform. - Susan B. Anthony
The greater part of our happiness depends on our dispositions and not our circumstances. - Martha Washington
See you out there. The Morning Ride Pedal Powered Podcast returns with Season Four starting Monday, July 8. I think.