The following poem accompanies my forthcoming article (April 3, 2019) on the state of the U.S. immigration policy and reform debate; Immipartheid: The Disease Without a Name. Until Now.
The United States is currently living amidst the consequences from the same disastrous errors in judgment embraced by the nation of South Africa.
Apartheid has been diagnosed as possessing the following elements:
- A policy of racial segregation involving political, legal, and economic discrimination against nonwhites.
- A principle or practice of separating or setting apart groups of people.
- The legal circumstance of being separated from others; segregation.
Millions reside among us.
Children walk to school.
Pledging allegiance to our flag,
Pondering the Golden Rule.
Gray market employment,
Wages less than fair.
Economically exploited
Do U.S. citizens really care?
Separate and unequal.
Millions forced to hide.
Living and breathing hope,
The reality of immipartheid.
Innocent brown eyes
Peering through the bars
Caged along the border
Like aliens from Mars.
Liberty and justice –
For some – but not for others.
Tears flow from their hearts,
Asylum seeking fathers and mothers.
Legislative limbo,
Has established a segregated people.
The majority gather on Sunday,
To worship beneath a steeple.
Self-righteous, fear-laden fervor,
Legitimizes what observers find so odd.
Is ripping kids from parents
Condoned by your Almighty God?
Mere existence in our midst,
Adjudicated guilty without trial.
Tolerating our own intolerance,
Comfortable in our denial.
Illegal’s, criminals and aliens –
Terms used to demonize their plight.
As undocumented men and women,
Clean America’s offices at night.
Powerless to advocate an outcome.
Silently adrift in this life’s boat.
Perhaps we might lend a hand,
Construct a bridge across the moat..
What about the bi-lingual students,
Those who excel in English, science and math?
Teachers for the next generation,
Absent citizenship’s path.
Excuse, piled upon excuse –
Buried in dishonest justification.
Eliminating immipartheid
Shall provide oxygen to our Nation.
Let’s wipe out immipartheid,
Courageously approach this fundamental task.
Let’s lift the veil that obscures the truth,
We can’t hide behind the racist mask.
Building our homes, harvesting our crops
With hammers, picks, hoes, and axes.
Employers take deductions from their pay
And fail to remit the taxes.
Counterintuitive as it may seem,
Our attitudes must make a shift.
Unraveling immipartheid,
May contain our greatest gift.
Children of One Maker,
Created equal one and all.
We mighty one’s must bend,
To help the refugees when they call.
Can we continue going on,
Looking the other way?
Unwilling and unrepentant,
Is Immipartheid here to stay?
The whole world is watching.
Will our hollow slogans become action?
Resolving immipartheid,
Restores U.S. integrity with traction.
The duplicity of it all,
Is the essence of what I abhor.
“Liberty and Justice for All!
Yet, immipartheid we ignore.
Oh, sweet land of the free.
Home of the notoriously brave.
Let’s eradicate immipartheid!
This must become our rave.
Rise up America!
It’s time to face the blame.
Rid our land of this disease.
Immipartheid is its name.
About The Author:
Bill is a freelance writer. Bill is published in numerous professional publications, magazines, websites, journals, newspapers and newsletters. You can enjoy Bill’s writing on his website at https://billdahl.net/.
