Ode to America and the Rest of Humanity

In the past year my eyes have been opened to things I had been blind to. And this has been a discouraging and sometimes painful process. And this is why I cried when I heard this song. This song is only about America, but my similar feelings have been about global problems as well, like realizing that Israel was doing to the Palestinians the same thing that was done to Native Americans long ago. And several of our presidents even now fully supporting it! I thought we had moved past that hell. I'd thought we were healing from it.  Yet here it is again!
    I do not know or support the channel this is was on, but the lyrics are just so good that I had to share it. I couldn't have said it better. I dedicate these lyrics to America and the rest of humanity... 

Demanding More

by Anonymous 

I grew up beneath a hopeful sky Believing every word

About liberty and justice Like a hymn that I had heard

I knew the stains upon our flag The chains, the blood, the scars

But I thought we’d crossed that distance I thought we’d traveled far

Maybe I was sheltered Maybe comfort made me blind

Maybe privilege builds a silence Deep inside the mind

‘Cause when the fire finally surfaced And the hatred took the stage

I saw ghosts I thought were buried Still alive with fear and rage

And it broke my heart wide open To learn what I’d failed to see

That racism wasn’t history It was breathing next to me

In the slogans and the dog whistles In the laws and coded lies

In the cheers for cruel injustice Standing naked in plain sight

So forgive me for my blindness For believing we had healed

For mistaking fragile progress For a finished, righteous field

But awakening can change a man And truth can rearrange a soul

Once you see the wound beneath the skin You cannot call it whole

Now I believe America Is not what we pretend

It’s a promise still unfinished A road too long to end

And freedom isn’t inherited It’s defended day by day

By the ones who choose each morning Not to look away

I want a nation built from every language Every prayer and every face

Where no child learns they’re lesser Just because of where they trace

Their roots, their skin, their story Their name, their faith, their song

A country brave enough to say “We’ve tolerated wrong. . . for way too long”

So I’ll speak when silence beckons I’ll listen when I’m wrong

I’ll stand beside the targeted And help them carry on

Because change is not a lightning strike It’s hands joined one by one

Until the fear that fed the darkness Finally comes undone

And maybe that’s the real America Not the myth, not marble halls

But ordinary people rising When conscience finally calls

A melting pot still simmering Still becoming what it means

Still stitching together fractured hope Into a stronger dream

So let us keep on building Something better than before

A nation where our dignity Is shared from shore to shore

Where every soul is equal And every heart belongs

Where we look at one another With respect that makes us strong

The work is long, the road uncertain But I finally understand

Love of country means demanding more From this wounded land

Until the day we truly see No stranger, less, or small

Just human beings standing equal In the eyes of one and all.

Demanding More | Powerful Folk Protest Song Against Racism...

https://youtu.be/rbrNpJ6-Jtw?si=8QBAqvDXYF1nyCaw&t=13