I’ve always loved parades. This year’s theme was America the Beautiful. The joy and excitement of individuals and families is palpable. Our hearts beat faster with the deeply penetrating cadence of drum corps, and nearly bursts when we see our nations banner carried in solemn reverence by those who understand, more personally, the sacrifice it represents. There is a sense of community as we come together to celebrate in our common love for life and liberty. Together with others I find joy in seeing the vivid colors and unique expressions of groups, individuals, organizations and businesses, reminding us that while we are uniquely individual, and from all walks of life, that we can be united and celebrate the best parts of us together. That is what makes America beautiful.
Sadly, we are witnessing the de-beautification of our nation. Forced compliance, and acceptance of the unacceptable in the name of equity, has made us ever more unequal, destroyed unity, and threatens to remove the beauty, uniqueness and color of our towns, state, and nation.
Do you remember playing with colored clay as a child? It was so exciting to pop the tops off a new batch of pristine colors and breathe in that fresh candy-dough scent. The initial creations were full of contrast, each element standing out in its own part of the creation. But when care wasn’t taken to respect the individual characteristics of the colors, or being too lazy to allow them their own space, the colors became dull, muddled, and eventually a nondescript gray. It was easy for a child’s mind to ignore the eventual outcome of improper care by carelessly mixing everything together and destroying the vivid uniqueness. As adults we should know and do better.
When everything’s smeared in rainbow the colors bleed and become an awful, ugly gray. Massive high-rise apartments, with stark cookie-cutter faces rise to block, then mock our once lovely City of Trees. The contrast of privacy verses openness has been eroded. Decorum and decency has taken a back seat to emotional free-for-alls, muddying our language until it is unrecognizable. Private property and individual innovation are being replaced by the common good and a scrambled sameness in an attempt to appear virtuous and accepting.
In an “everybody gets a trophy” world, where everything is forced to be special, nothing is special. Your gender, your sexual preference, your abilities against comparable contestants, your beliefs and hopes for society and the future, even your words, must all be crammed into the same non-binary box.
When everything is mandated to be accepted, in the name of tolerance, our acceptance
becomes meaningless and is nothing more than a portrait of forced compliance, a portrait painted in all slate gray, where there is no longer any definition to be found.
It’s time to be the grown-ups again, and expand our vision to eventual outcomes. Let’s paint with clear strokes, bright colors, and celebrate our commonalities, not force feed diversities, and make America beautiful again.
Beverly Kingsford, wife and mother of six, Executive Committee Assistant, BCRCC