Remember Who We Are

Joe Elvis Alway

The air was lighter then, the sky brighter. We were one—under one flag, one family. We didn’t always agree, but we stood together. We believed in something bigger than ourselves.

But now, there’s a shadow where sunlight once lay. A cold wind whispers through our streets, through our homes, pulling us further and further apart. We’re fighting our neighbors. We’re closing our doors. We’re forgetting the dream that was meant to be more than just words on a page.

We were told to study history. To understand it. To be vigilant. "Learn from the past," they said, "so we never repeat it."  We swore we would never let that happen. No, not here. Not in this land.

But here we are.

And we refuse to see it. The same fear, the same hate, the same division that once tore nations apart is creeping into our own backyard. What was done then is happening again. And yet, we look away.

Lines are drawn in anger. Words sharpened into stones—thrown at one another without thought. The walls we build aren’t just made of bricks and steel. They rise in our hearts, our minds, in the space between us. And when we point our fingers, when we curse and blame... who is left to carry the weight of all this shame?

We turn off the news because the truth cuts too deep. It forces us to see the cracks, the fractures, and the wounds we refuse to heal. But silence won’t save us. It never has. And it never will.

Where are the voices that once sang for the free? The voices that filled this land with hope? With promise? I was told we were better than this. That love was the answer. If that’s true, then why do we hide from it? Why do we let the darkness divide us?

Oh, the land I was born in… don’t let your light fade. Remember who you are. Remember the price that was paid to keep the dream alive. We were never meant to stand alone. We were never meant to tear each other apart.

I still believe.

I have to believe…

That we can be more than the pain we grieve. That we can be more than this moment. That we can find our way back.

Before it’s too late.