Reframing
the Foundations
for a Wiser America
Millions of people by choice or by force have given or lost their lives, their blood, their sweat, and their tears to build America up. We will not let their sacrifices and contributions go in vain. We aspire to help finish the unfinished work that is America.
There are a lot of good things in America
A meeting ground for diverse communities
Constitutional rights
Distribution of powers
Separation of church and state
American innovation
There are also a lot of open wounds in America
Slavery + continued oppression of Black communities
Genocide + continued oppression of Indigenous communities
American exceptionalism
Permanent war
We are all called to heal & reconcile America
Reframing our values
Equality and Equity for Black and Indigenous communities
American humility
Permanent generosity
The People’s Pledge of Allegiance
I pledge allegiance
to all the people
of the United States of America:
Black, brown, white,
and all the shades in between;
and to the values
for which we stand:
unity, diversity, cooperation,
and celebration;
one nation humbly searching
for truth, goodness, and beauty,
while we safeguard each other’s
liberty, dignity, and opportunity
so there can be justice for all.
@rahimsnow
Rahim Snow
I am a teacher, writer, storyteller, and bridge builder.
I am the author of Remember Who You Are: 28 Spiritual Verses from the Holy Quran for Muslims, Christians, Jews, and all seekers of knowledge.
American Wisdom is a creative project that’s been rolling around in my head and heart for a long time.
I have gained much from America, in ways that others have not. I want to help make America work for all of its people, not just a select few.
When you agree to take a slice
of the American dream,
you also agree to take responsibility
for the American nightmare.
@rahimsnow
Recent Blog Posts
The People’s Pledge of Allegiance
If we are going to reach for a new America, we are going to have to pledge ourselves to something more real than flags and republics. We are going to have to pledge ourselves to all the people.
I do not go back to America to sit still, remain quiet, and enjoy ease and comfort… I glory in the conflict, that I may hereafter exult in the victory. I know that victory is certain. I go, turning my back upon the ease, comfort, and respectability which I might maintain even here… Still, I will go back, for the sake of my brethren. I go to suffer with them; to toil with them; to endure insult with them; to undergo outrage with them; to lift up my voice in their behalf; to speak and write in their vindication; and struggle in their ranks for the emancipation which shall yet be achieved.
Frederick Douglass
This is precisely the time when artists go to work. There is no time for despair, no place for self-pity, no need for silence, no room for fear. We speak, we write, we do language. That is how civilizations heal. I know the world is bruised and bleeding, and though it is important not to ignore its pain, it is also critical to refuse to succumb to its malevolence. Like failure, chaos contains information that can lead to knowledge—even wisdom. Like art.
TONI MORRISON