Since November, I’ve been struggling to figure out what a real, honest to goodness, call to arms — the kind that keeps us all focused and on-point — might look like. I’ve thrashed around with some OK ideas, but mostly awful, because, well, there’s a lot of awful going around and it’s hard to channel positive energy in dark times. And then it dawned on me.
We need Emma Lazarus.
Here’s the poem in its entirety. Read it aloud, right now, with your loved ones. I’m talking to YOU. What are you waiting for?
The New Colossus
Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.
"Keep ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she
With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"
Emma Lazarus (November 2, 1883)
Here’s my modest bold proposal: put this poem everywhere. Learn it by heart, for one thing. Facebook status? Sure. Post a link to this. Good start, but you’re not done. Considering a tattoo? Pick this. Got a mezuzah on your door? Stuff it in. Next time you’re in a church and it’s time for the Lord’s prayer, say this instead. Next time you’re asked to do the pledge of allegiance, say this instead. If you have to swear an oath, swear on this. Getting married? Add this to your wedding vows. Include it when you mail your taxes in. Into yarn bombing? Check. Put it on the next cake you decorate. Graffiti it on walls. Put it everywhere.
All hands on deck.