There is a Goddess of America, and her name is Columbia. This is not a witty line portraying a concept. I am not using an analogy to liken the capital to a Divine Mother Figure. I am simply stating facts: There is a Goddess of America, and her name is Columbia.
Our founding fathers were not fond of colonial era England, and were all well versed in the periodical of the time: Edward Cave’s Edward Cave’s The Gentleman’s Magazine. “>The Gentleman’s Magazine, in which quasi-illegal transcripts of the Parliamentary proceedings were loosely disguised as fictional works. It was illegal to print the transcripts from such, and so pen names were chosen for all people and places involved/ America was known as Columbia. When our Forefathers got here, they continued the use of this name in Reverence of the early anti-government movement that helped drive the revolution.
In the years following our succession from imperial rule, the people of the country began to personify her. They dressed her in Red, White, and Blue. Her golden curls, or long straight black hair, cascaded down her face. Her look of determination, and open armed embrace, concretized in picture that which was quintessentially American. They gave her the liberty crown. They placed her atop government buildings, as she led our country through conflict; standing next to her male counterpart, Uncle Sam.
She has watched over our country as the mother protects her children, and through her we have always found our way into peace, and freedom. Security for those in need, and a promise of abundance if you work hard. A Mother’s praise for a job well done.
Like a true Mother of Us All, she has smiled down on us. She doesn’t try to hog the spotlight. She sits quietly and watches as her children play beneath her. Glory is not her calling. Her calling comes from the triumphs of her children. She shakes her head softly when we fight, and giggles when we are funny. She sheds her tears for our accomplishments readily. She saves her tears, caused by hurts we inflict on her, for when we aren’t looking, because the way we treat each other breaks her heart, and she wants to stay strong for us. Columbia has been our heart and life force since before we were born; since we were still growing within her, in the pages of The Gentleman’s Magazine.
We have forgotten the face of our Mother.
It is time to remember her.
In times of great need she gets out of her chair, and reminds us that we are all supposed to ‘fight nicely’.
African American Poet Phillis Wheatley”>Phillis Wheatley:
One century scarce perform’d its destined round,
When Gallic powers Columbia’s fury found;
And so may you, whoever dares disgrace
The land of freedom’s heaven-defended race!
Fix’d are the eyes of nations on the scales,
For in their hopes Columbia’s arm prevails
She knows when to stand, and now is the time to stand. Now is the time for all of us to remember the Face of our Mother and smile at her; to unite under her ideal of ‘get along with each other’. We have it in us. We come from strong roots. We can remember that we are one people in this nation, and if others want to count themselves among us then it is their inalienable right, because we are the land of the free, and our Mother, Columbia’s arms are big enough to hold all of her children.
That’s why our Forefathers made sure she had a place at our table.
It hurts my heart that some of my brothers, and sisters have so much fear in their hearts. Our founding fathers didn’t want this for us. They didn’t want us to segregate, and ostracize. They would not be happy with a single religion for America. They purposefully left our Great Nation without a national religion. They wanted us to all learn each others’ religion. Our Forefathers were Masons. Masons at their core encompass all religions equally. They revel in the blending of ideas. This is the energy that our founding fathers, and Columbia wanted. They did not want us to play King of the Mountain. They wanted us to play Sandbox.