James Baldwin: I Criticize America Precisely Because I Love Her

We cannot heal that which is silenced, negated, denied, ignored, not seen, oppressed, and demonized. It is only when we have the courage to see, to own, and to work through the obstacles to our loving ourselves and others that we then begin to soften and shift. And then everything changes. Everything. Our grief and fear, shame and blame, judgements and anger all have the potential for transformation and the seeds of our awakening. Our wounds, individually and collectively, can become doorways into an evolving and growing consciousness if we have the courage, commitment, and capacity to challenge our belief systems, our actions, our emotional triggers, and "the way it has always been." Because many of those old stories - the ones we have been indoctrinated into believing since we were vulnerable little children - have often been quietly and violently killing and harming our bodies, minds, hearts, and souls for a very long time. Harm can become help and healing, ignorance can become awareness, entitlement can become humility, separation and isolation can become connectedness, scapegoating and judging can become accountability and compassion, bias and prejudice can become deepening understanding, fear and conformity can become courage and awakening, wounds can become blessing and wisdom, and greed and violence and oppression can become love and caring and kindness. May we listen to those such as James Baldwin and all those who have come before us - and to those who share their courageous voices today - and allow into our awareness this shining light that reveals deeper truths and that there is another way. If we are alive and breathing, there is, I believe, more work to do. May we all evolve and grow in courage and love. 

Warmest blessings to us all on our journeys ~ Molly

I love America more than any other country in the world and, 

exactly for this reason, I insist on the right 

to criticize her perpetually.

― James Baldwin