If this democracy must die, I will not disrupt its transition. I will be as indifferent as it was every second my kin & ‘nem spilled blood to defend it. I will not shed tears at its departure. I will not stand silent at its burial site. I might channel surf the waves of mourners flooding every major newscast with their grief, but I will not lift my voice to sing their song of sorrow.
I will not share words in memory of what it could have been. I will remember all the times my kin & ‘nem exchanged our ballots for hollow promises and/or hollow points. I will not bring flowers to adorn its headstone. My knees will not buckle from wailing as my kin & ‘nem had wept themselves weak enough when change never came in the days & weeks after election polls closed.
I will remember the labor it imposed on me. I won’t run to revive it. I will remember how my kin & ‘nem weathered beneath its gray skies, and all the times our hopes for brighter days were denied.
If this democracy must die, I will not conjure a resurrection. I will not say a prayer for its peaceful journey. I will remember every time it reneged on the social contract my kin & ‘nem signed in sweat. Every moment our outlook of overcome was overturned to make space for overt oppression.
When this experiment does implode, let me stand on the side of history that steps over the debris. Find a new country beneath the rubble of the former Republic. Help transform every set of shoulders weary from carrying its weight into a body politic strengthened by the true will of the people.
If this democracy must die, let me not be a prisoner of the moment. Let me remember all the times our best lives were confined under the guise of liberty & justice and all the days our freedom was shackled to papers written by enslavers under the auspice of building a nation.
I have no desire to pull the plug or to summon the Grim Reaper. I do not plan to emulate the cold stare it cast over my kin & ‘nem’s homegoings. I will view its demise with the same care as I would roadkill while journeying to something better.
Unbothered by its misfortune. Eyes steady on the beauty…the bounty, that lies ahead.
You are singing my song. Sweet harmonies of liberty.