Bill Dalton: Dear America

EDITOR'S NOTE: The views and opinions expressed are those of the writer and not of Ottawa News Network.

Dear America,

I know, nobody writes letters anymore. It’s a lost art in the digital age. And the price of a stamp is ridiculous.

Yet … this isn’t a “Dear John” letter. It’s a letter to something I still love.

I’ll admit I’ve been neglectful. I’ve taken too much for granted. My freedoms. My rights. My “pursuit of happiness,” whatever that means.

Never thought about them really, until lately — now that I might be losing them. Losing you.

I’m coming to some difficult realizations, some hard truths about myself and you. But the bottom line is this — I don’t know where I’d be without you. I’d be lost.

You were always there when I needed you, not asking too much other than paying my taxes on time and voting in most elections. Obeying the laws, except for those speeding tickets.

Since you didn’t ask too much, maybe I took advantage of you and didn’t fully appreciate our relationship and what we meant to each other.

Lately, though, I feel as if we’re falling apart and losing what we once had. Our quiet understanding of each other’s needs. You’ve grown distant, cold, resentful and even cruel over the last year.

It’s not like you. You were always caring and nurturing. Welcoming even, with open arms. Now, you’ve turned cold as ice.

You’re better than that. We’re better than that.

I hope it’s not too late. Because I feel there’s something still there. Something we haven’t lost.

Do you feel it, too? I hope so. I can’t stand the thought of losing you.

Remember our favorite songs? Those lyrics still ring true after all these years. Like “crown thy good with brotherhood, from sea to shining sea.”We loved those songs, even though they were almost impossible to sing. They gave us chills, especially the parts about the “land of the free” and the “home of the brave.”

Thankfully, this is still the land of the free and the home of the brave. Because of them, there is still hope for brotherhood. And for us.

It’s not too late. It’s never too late.

This letter is heartbreaking to write, so I’ll just end with this: Despite all the pain and suffering these past few months, we’re worth fighting for.

I still love you.

Yours, Bill

— Bill Dalton is a former reporter and editor for The Kansas City Star and spends summers on the family farm near Fennville. His novel “The Bank Game” — a trashy crime thriller — is available from Amazon on Valentine's Day. eBook version available now.

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