Pants on Fire

Dear General Kelly

Dear General Kelly

Pronunciation seems to be the key.
America, with emphasis on “me,”
does not reflect the values that I hold.
My freedoms are worth more than your fool’s gold.

America’s not yours. It’s ours, it’s shared.
I hear your hidden hate and I am scared
that the cancer of intolerance you preach
disfigures this great land with every speech.

You speak in words designed to raise my fear
as though a stranger who might come to near
is somehow someone to be shunned or banned
simply because they’re from a foreign land.

I walk the hallowed ground at Arlington
and see the names emblazoned on each stone.
Garcia, Kim, Batista, and Chen Liu.
These “strangers” paid the highest price for you.

We are a nation, built upon a creed
that together we are stronger. What we need
are leaders who believe in what we are:
America is freedom’s shining star.

Today's scandal comes from White House Chief of Staff General John Kelly. In a new interview with NPR, Kelly complained that immigrants crossing the border weren't good fits because they "don't have skills" and "don't speak English." Kelly doesn't want unskilled immigrants, just like his ancestors.