Out of Many, One

Hate is the oldest fire.
It promises warmth.
It leaves only ash.

It whispers divide
while pretending to protect.
It calls itself strength
while trembling at the unfamiliar.

Nationalism is not patriotism.
It is fear dressed in a flag.
It is love of symbol
without love of neighbor.

And fear, when crowned,
becomes the greatest threat to us all.

Patriotism is something quieter.
Stronger.
Braver.

Patriotism builds.
It does not barricade.
It lifts.
It does not narrow.

Patriotism understands that “We The People”
was never meant to echo in a closed room.
It was meant to ring across mountains,
across languages,
across colors of skin and songs of prayer.

We The People
means all the people.

Not some.
Not most.
Not merely the comfortable.
All.

Inclusion is not weakness.
Diversity is not dilution.
They are the architecture of resilience.
They are the way a forest survives fire.
They are the way a nation survives itself.

E pluribus unum.

Out of many, one.

Not out of sameness, one.
Not out of silence, one.
Out of many.

Many stories.
Many hands.
Many dreams woven together
into something that can endure.

The greatest threat of our time
is not difference.

It is the belief
that difference must be conquered.