Originally Published 7/04/2016

Jim Olson

I am not a catholic, and yet the pageantry of faith in each service cannot be witnessed without respect. I am not Jewish, but I watch the solidarity of that community with inspired awe. I am not a Muslim, but I welcome their faithful presence while rejecting the intolerant perversions of all faiths.   I am not gay, but those acquaintances, friends, and relatives who are have proven societal contributions to this nation as great as any individuals I have ever come to know. I am not a person of color; but a person believing in the greatness of a color blind society. I am neither wealthy nor poor, but I have experienced the intensity of integrity from those to whom we randomly apply both those class distinctions. I am not an elected official, yet I have come to understand their burdens with empathy while respectfully demanding their respectful attention. 

I am… an American…. like the mass majority of all Americans, descended from immigrants. I am an American freely praying within my own faith for all Americans to accept others, as they demand to be accepted in the manner in which the freedoms of our constitution prescribe.  I am an American, who believes as President Lyndon Johnson voiced, that our enemies who await our defeat will only find at our depth the true spirit of commonality that has always prevailed.  I am an American, who refuses the rocky path of divisiveness and seeks the enlightened paved road of successfully arbitrated governance.   

I am….an American.