I have observed over the last 20 or so years a steady influx of Hispanics into places where I have lived: NC, TN, IL, KY. And I have often wondered about the culture shock and overload of America. What effect does moving to America have on the soul?
For Some Hispanics, Coming to U.S. Means Abandoning Religion – New York Times
I remember visiting Cochabamba in Bolivia, South America and being appalled, broken and disillusioned over the poverty that I observed in the high mountains there. I can still see in my minds eye a little boy who looked to be about 4 or 5 years old, completely naked defecating in the middle of an open street. No one stopped him, no one helped him. I saw neither mother, father or brother or sister. He was all alone wondering. Then I can remember riding a motorcycle to middle of one large village and finding in the middle of it a mountain of garbage where families picked through looking for something to eat, sale or use. I remember as well the irritation and frustration I found/find with Americans as I came back to the states…the hurriedness, murmuring and complaining over banal trivialities, the addiction to entertainment fueled by the fear of a moments silence which would inevitably lead to boredom.
However, I am not ashamed to live in a land with abundance. This is where I live and where I was born…placed, if you will. My deep worry, for myself and others, is that we simply are not better for it. We are instead more selfish and greedy. We are merely flesh and blood. We live, but the spirit has gone out from us. We are head-pieces filled with straw. We are materials displaced in a spiritual world.
In my home pray the Lord’s prayer together as a family daily. So I wondered what the inverse would be as I read over what I’ve written and how I feel about it. So here is prayer we live more than utter.
The New Lord and His Prayer
Whose Father?
Hollowed, You Have No Name,
My Kingdom has come
my will is done
On earth and I can’t imagine a heaven
This is my day, I deserve it
This is my bread, I earned it
I’ll forgive your debt if you forgive mine
I’m lead away only by the most interesting temptations
But,What is evil?
There is nothing to come
There is nothing to be done
On earth
I want to fly in space and call it heaven
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