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| Image from Savon Dental Plan |
Between All Of Us
(Or, "An Independence Day Poem")
All of God's creation is joyfully,
gloriously, and so abundantly,
standing between all of us.
The love of God for this great
country of ours is proudly
blooming between all of us.
America's amber waves of grain,
and her fruited plains, are forever
unfolding between all of us.
The Constitution is a binding
testament to the liberty that
lives between all of us.
Our Founding Fathers' balanced,
hard, and proud, accomplishments
breath freely between all of us.
The Liberty Bell silently peels
truly, faithfully, and incredibly
deeply between all of us.
The Statue of Liberty keeps
her flame of freedom burning
brightly between all of us.
The Washington Monument
rises above the fear of change for
some of those between all of us.
The Lincoln Memorial speaks
quietly of the peaceful patriotism
that exists between all of us.
Old Glory herself is waving loud
and proud for the love of America
that thrives between all of us.
And only our great love for this
wonderful country of ours could
ever come between all of us.
So, let us all pledge our allegiance
to the one nation under God
that stands between all of us.
-Paul Whiting
(a.k.a., A Creative Writer)
"I maybe say too much about how life really is!"
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My Writing Notes:
The reason that I wrote this poem can be summed up with the following statement: "Happy Birthday, America!"
I originally wrote this poem for the 234th Birthday of the United States of America, which was on July 4th, 2010.
Just so you know, I revised this poem, as I often do with my writing! And I changed how this poem was written on July 3rd, 2023 after I sent it to someone in an email who had said to me, "Have a Happy 4th of July," and I said back to them, "Happy 4th of July to you too!" Thus, after my signature, I said, "P.S.: Here is an Independence Day poem that I wrote a few years ago!" So, I wanted to show you how this poem used to be written, before I revised it as above.
And it used to be written like this:
Between All Of Us
(Or, "An Independence Day Poem")
All of God's creation is joyfully,
gloriously, and so abundantly,
standing Between All Of Us.
The love of God for this great
country of ours is proudly
blooming Between All Of Us.
America's amber waves of grain,
and her fruited plains, are forever
unfolding Between All Of Us.
The Constitution is a binding
testament to the liberty that
lives Between All Of Us.
Our Founding Fathers' balanced,
hard, and proud, accomplishments
breath freely Between All Of Us.
The Liberty Bell silently peels
truly, faithfully, and so very
deeply, Between All Of Us.
The Statue of Liberty keeps
her flame of freedom burning
brightly Between All Of Us.
The Washington Monument
rises above the fear of change for
some of those Between All Of Us.
The Lincoln Memorial speaks
quietly of the peaceful patriotism
that exists Between All Of Us.
Old Glory herself is waving loud
and proud for the love of America
that thrives Between All Of Us.
And only our great love for
this wonderful country could
ever come Between All Of Us.
So, let us all pledge our allegiance
to the one nation under God
that stands Between All Of Us.
Thus, I revised this poem to be written as it is above.
And this poem was also published on my "Small All White in the Forest" blog (please see the hyperlink below for the blog), since I feel that the message in this poem applies to the message that I am trying to convey through "Small All White in the Forest."
This poem was written in Portland, Oregon.
-Paulee
https://smallallwhiteintheforest.blogspot.com
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WARNING: THIS POEM HAS CONTENT THAT MAY BE DISTURBING TO SOME READERS. VIEWER DISCRETION IS ADVISED!
The United States Of America Co-Opted
Tchaikovsky's "1812 Overture" From Russia
(A Patriotic Apologetic Poem)
"The Year 1812 Solemn Overture, Op. 49"
(popularly known as the '1812 Overture')
was written by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky—
68 years later in 1880—to commemorate
Russia's successful defense in 1812 of
Moscow against France's invading "Grande
Armee" under Napoleon Bonaparte!
And the United States of America
co-opted the '1812 Overture' for
the musical accompaniment to
our Independence Day (or, the
"4th of July") fireworks, as if the
brilliant Russian classical work
of music was ours and not theirs!
Therefore, in order to 'sum it up,'
on behalf of the entire United
States of America, I would like to
apologize profusely to the entire
Russian Federation for America having
co-opted their inspiring '1812 Overture!'
–Paul Whiting (written June 15th, 2021 and revised May 14th, 2023)
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WARNING: THIS POEM HAS CONTENT THAT MAY BE DISTURBING TO SOME READERS. VIEWER DISCRETION IS ADVISED!
Happy Independence Day!
(Or, "A '4th of July' Poem")
God's Creation in its totality is perfect.
The United States of America
within God's Creation is imperfect.
Since July 4th, 1776, this "Great
Experiment in Democracy has
been a 'melting pot' of immigrants
from other countries...
...For example, some immigrants,
who came from England, invaded
Native American lands—and
committed genocide of the Native
American people—in order to gain
independence from Great Britain
(which is the basis of the
Independence Day, or the
"4th of July" celebration)...
...And other immigrants who came
from Africa, were forced to come
to America as slaves, which was
the cause of the Civil War (and
which is the basis of the "Juneteenth"
celebration, when African-American
slaves were notified, in Texas, by Union
General Gordon Granger on June 19th,
1865—two years after the Emancipation
Proclamation of January 1st, 1863—
that they had been freed)...
...And African-Americans are
still treated as if they are slaves—
because they are actively exploited,
marginalized and even killed by the
'white masters of slavery' (which is
the basis of the "Black Lives Matter"
movement that began in 2013)...
...Therefore, if Americans wish to
create "A More Perfect Union," then
we need to stop thinking, feeling
and acting as if we are more perfect
than the totality of God's Creation.
–Paul Whiting (written July 3rd, 2021 for Independence Day, or the "4th of July," revised July 4th, 2022 and revised May 14th, 2023)
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July 4th, 2022 Update, Written On July 1st, 2022: Happy Independence Day, everyone!
In celebration of Independence Day (which is usually more informally referred to as the 'Fourth of July'—or sometimes the '4th of July'—in the United States of America), I signed a 'Fourth of July' card today, July 1st, 2022, from the USO (United Service Organizations) in order to include our brave men and women in uniform in my '4th of July' celebrations.
You see, while we are celebrating 246 years of the United States of America, "we cannot forget the service members who continue to sacrifice so much to defend the freedoms our forefathers fought for."
And I was notified about this Independence Day card yesterday, June 30th, 2022, via an email from the USO with the subject line, "Before July 4, will you join me in thanking our troops?" that was written by [name redacted], "who is the highest-grossing box office star of all time," which stated the following:
Paul,
I've had the honor of visiting with over 5,500 of our brave service members in Kuwait, Turkey, Qatar and Afghanistan alongside the USO, and this much is certain: No superhero on the big screen can stack up against these real-life heroes in uniform.
While it's not always possible for us to thank our troops in person, I know how much it means to this community of military supporters to send them love and gratitude from home — especially ahead of important moments like July 4. That's why I hope you'll join me in thanking our service members today:
I'm helping the USO collect at least 100,000 signatures in support of our military heroes before July 4, so please, will you add your name now to thank our service members who sacrifice so much for our freedom all year long?
SIGN THE CARD***
Many of us are looking forward to a weekend filled with fireworks and barbeques with our family and friends, but we can't forget about the service members who will be thousands of miles away from their loved ones — deployed in dangerous conditions to make sure we can celebrate holidays like July 4 back home.
I've seen firsthand how much messages of support and appreciation mean to our troops, and it only takes a moment to say thank you. Please, can I count on you to sign the thank-you card now for our service members in honor of their sacrifice? It's the least we can do for the heroes who selflessly do so much for us.
Thank you for all you do to support our service members — today and every day.
—[Name redacted]
***[I used to include hyperlinks contained within the email messages, or the text messages, to which I am referring in these "Activism Updates"; however, I could not figure out how to include the aforementioned hyperlinks, regarding some relevant action that I had taken—such as signing a petition, sending a letter or message to my representative(s) in Congress, signing a USO 'Thank You' card, and/or making a donation—without including my personal information.]
Plus, after I signed the card, I made a one-time donation on the USO.org website to say to our service members, "Happy Fourth of July to all the brave troops serving at home and abroad! Today and every day, we truly appreciate everything you do to protect our country."
In addition to that, I already make a recurring monthly donation to the USO in order to show my support for our U.S. Military Personnel! You see, I usually make one-time donations to the USO each month—as often as I can manage when they request a donation via email or text message. Therefore, I am planning to continue making one-time donations to the USO in the future, as often as I can manage to make donations, in addition to making the aforementioned recurring monthly donation.
By the way, did you know that the USO is a not-for-profit organization and not part of the Department of Defense (DoD)? The following description of the USO is from their 'About Us' webpage:
"The USO is not part of the federal government. A congressionally chartered, private organization, the USO relies on the generosity of individuals, organizations and corporations to support its activities, and is powered by a family of volunteers to accomplish our mission of connection."
So, that is why I 'volunteer financially' as a member of the "USO Home Team" through a recurring monthly donation, as well as through one-time donations to the USO each month!
–Paul Whiting (written July 1st, 2022, revised July 6th, 2022, revised August 16th, 2022, revised September 4th, 2022, revised November 18th, 2022, revised November 24th, 2022, revised December 19th, 2022, revised December 29th, 2022, revised January 1st, 2023, revised April 21st, 2023, revised April 27th, 2023, revised April 28th, 2023, revised May 17th, 2023, revised May 19th, 2023, revised June 14th, 2023, revised July 28th, 2023, revised September 27th, 2023, revised November 18th, 2023 and revised May 4th, 2024)
[I feel like I need to clarify why there are so many 'revised dates' on this 'update,' just like there are often times so many 'revised dates' on other 'updates' similar to this one! You see, I really try to keep my writing consistent as possible across all of my blogs. Therefore, as I am writing, I try to use the same phraseology wherever possible with regard to similar types of my writing so that, when I am editing my writing, I can change all of the similar writing at the same time and in the same way! Thus, a lot of the revisions indicated above, after my name (–Paul Whiting), and shown right after the original 'written date,' are often times due to these aforementioned consistent-writing revisions.]
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July 4th, 2023 Update, Written On July 2nd, 2023: In celebration of Independence Day (which is usually more informally referred to as the 'Fourth of July'—or sometimes the '4th of July'—in the United States of America), I signed a 'Fourth of July' card today, July 2nd, 2023, from the USO (United Service Organizations) in order to include our brave men and women in uniform in my '4th of July' celebrations.
You see, while we are celebrating 247 years of the United States of America, "we’re showing up to support our brave military heroes and let them know how much we appreciate the sacrifices they make to protect us and our freedoms."
And I was notified about this Independence Day card today, July 2nd, 2023, via an email from the USO with the subject line, "This July 4, join me and thank the heroes defending our country" that was written by [name redacted], "who is the highest-grossing box office star of all time," which stated the following:
Paul,
I've been lucky enough to join the USO for several tours and events and meet thousands of our brave service members. It's such an emotional experience each time to listen to their stories and personally thank them for their service and their immense sacrifices.
I know there are many moments in the line of duty where these heroes need a reminder that they are appreciated — when they're facing danger and uncertainty, stationed in unfamiliar places far from home or missing holidays with loved ones.
That's why, this Fourth of July, I hope you'll join me in thanking our service members: I'm helping the USO collect at least 100,000 signatures on a special July 4th thank-you card to honor our heroes, so please, will you add your name next to mine now to thank the troops sacrificing so much to protect our freedom?
SIGN THE CARD***
Whether I'm shaking hands with troops on the ground or connecting with them virtually around the world, I know a quick expression of thanks goes a long way to boost their morale and strengthen their resiliency. It's the least we can do, Paul, to honor those who volunteer to keep us safe and free back home.
So please, before you go out to celebrate our country with family and friends this Fourth of July, can I count on you to be one of the 100,000 signers via email and text messages to thank all the troops sacrificing so much for us? Sign the card now to honor these courageous heroes.
Thank you so much. Happy Fourth of July!
—[Name redacted]
***[I used to include hyperlinks contained within the email messages, or the text messages, to which I am referring in these "Activism Updates"; however, I could not figure out how to include the aforementioned hyperlinks, regarding some relevant action that I had taken—such as signing a petition, sending a letter or message to my representative(s) in Congress, signing a USO 'Thank You' card, and/or making a donation—without including my personal information.]
Plus, after I signed the card, I made a one-time donation on the USO.org website to say to our brave military heroes: "Happy Fourth of July! Thank you for everything you do to protect our freedom and keep us safe."
In addition to that, I already make a recurring monthly donation to the USO in order to show my support for our U.S. Military Personnel! You see, I usually make one-time donations to the USO each month—as often as I can manage when they request a donation via email or text message. Therefore, I am planning to continue making one-time donations to the USO in the future, as often as I can manage to make donations, in addition to making the aforementioned recurring monthly donation.
By the way, did you know that the USO is a not-for-profit organization and not part of the Department of Defense (DoD)? The following description of the USO is from their 'About Us' webpage:
"The USO is not part of the federal government. A congressionally chartered, private organization, the USO relies on the generosity of individuals, organizations and corporations to support its activities, and is powered by a family of volunteers to accomplish our mission of connection."
So, that is why I 'volunteer financially' as a member of the "USO Home Team" through a recurring monthly donation, as well as through one-time donations to the USO each month! –Paul Whiting (written July 2nd, 2023, revised July 28th, 2023, revised September 27th, 2023 and revised November 18th, 2023)
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July 4th, 2024 Update No. 2 (Originally From My Blog Post Titled, "I Am No Longer Being An Activist In The Same Way That I Was," Which Is On My "Poet, Artist and Philosopher" Blog): Happy Independence Day, everyone!
In celebration of Independence Day (which is usually more informally referred to as the 'Fourth of July'—or sometimes the '4th of July'—in the United States of America), I did a Google search for "4th of July USO" and found the following USO (United Service Organizations) search result regarding the 'Fourth of July':
United Service Organizations
Sign the Card: Thank Our Troops This Fourth of July
This Fourth of July, we're trying to show our brave military heroes how much we appreciate the sacrifices they make to protect our freedom. ...
And, after I read the search results above, I clicked on the hyperlink to the referenced webpage, the relevant text of which can be found below:
★★★USO★★★
75,000 signatures needed to hit our goal!
→→→→→→66,506
This Fourth of July, we're trying to show our brave military heroes how much we appreciate the sacrifices they make to protect our freedom. Sign the USO's Independence Day card now to thank our troops!
Happy Fourth of July! Thank you for everything you do to protect our freedom and keep us safe.
Sincerely,
First Name: Paul
Last Name: Whiting
Email: [redacted]
SIGN THE CARD
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Thanks for signing the card! Will you take a few minutes to complete a quick survey about supporting all of our nation's heroes?
From scorching deserts in Iraqi summers to frozen mountaintops in Afghan winters, our troops endure harsh conditions to keep folks like us safe. How important is it to you to support our service members deployed far from home?
[✓] Extremely important
[ ] Very important
[ ] Somewhat important
[ ] Not at all important
The USO gives our service members the support they need to keep their spirits up, from phone calls home to A-list entertainment. Do you think it's important to keep troops' morale high by letting them know patriotic Americans back home stand with them?
[✓] Yes
[ ] No
Hundreds of thousands of service members are currently deployed overseas, putting themselves in harm's way in dangerous combat zones like Iraq and Afghanistan. Have you or a family member or friend ever served in the military?
[✓] Yes
[ ] No
Our service members make incredible sacrifices to keep us safe, missing special moments like the first day of school or a baby's first steps while deployed far from home. How important do you think it is to help our troops stay connected to family back home during deployment?
[✓] Extremely important
[ ] Important
[ ] Somewhat important
[ ] Not at all important
A Navy lieutenant commander recently told us that USO Care Packages are a "constant reminder to those of us out 'in the sandbox' that we are not forgotten and folks back home actually care."
Now, as we work to deliver our brave service members a touch of home, we need to ask for your support.
It takes a lot of time, coordination and money to get our care packages to more than 175,000 service members who are away from their families, sacrificing so much defending our freedoms. The USO is not a government agency — we rely on the generosity and patriotism of citizens like you.
But right now, we're falling short of our goal, and time is running out. Will you donate today to help the USO keep our service members connected to the family, home and country they protect? We'll send you a free American- made T-shirt you can wear to show your support for our troops!
[ ] Yes, I'll donate $29 or more. Send me a T-shirt!
[✓] Yes, I'll donate but don't want a T-shirt!
[ ] No, I don't want to donate to support our service members today.
---------------------------------------------
Help Connect our Heroes to Home
It takes a lot of time, coordination and money to get our core packages and other essentials to more than 200,000 service members who are away from their families, sacrificing so much defending our freedoms.
Will you please donate by MIDNIGHT tonight to send a little bit of home to our service members and show them how thankful you are?
SUPPORT OUR TROOPS
[ ] $29
[ ] $49
[ ] $100
[ ] $250
[ ] $500
[ ] $1,000
[ ] $1,500
[✓] $14.00
And so, I signed the USO 4th of July card in order to "show our brave military heroes how much we appreciate the sacrifices they make to protect our freedom." Plus, after I signed the card, I made a one-time donation on the USO.org website to say to our troops, "Happy Fourth of July! Thank you for everything you do to protect our freedom and keep us safe."
In addition to that, I already make a recurring monthly donation to the USO in order to show my support for our U.S. Military Personnel! You see, I usually make one-time donations to the USO each month—as often as I can manage when they request a donation via email or text message. Therefore, I am planning to continue making one-time donations to the USO in the future, as often as I can manage to make donations, in addition to making the aforementioned recurring monthly donation.
By the way, did you know that the USO is a not-for-profit organization and not part of the Department of Defense (DoD)? The following description of the USO is from their 'About Us' webpage:
"The USO is not part of the federal government. A congressionally chartered, private organization, the USO relies on the generosity of individuals, organizations and corporations to support its activities, and is powered by a family of volunteers to accomplish our mission of connection."
So, that is why I 'volunteer financially' as a member of the "USO Home Team" through a recurring monthly donation, as well as through one-time donations to the USO each month!
–Paul Whiting (July 4th, 2024)
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November 6th, 2024 Update No. 1 [My Writing About No Longer Being An 'Online Activist' In Any Way, Shape Or Form]: Due to Donald Trump winning the 2024 Presidential Election—and until further notice—I am no longer being an 'Online Activist' in any way, shape or form, which includes no longer signing petitions from political, social, environmental and charitable organizations, and no longer sending letters to my Representative and Senators in Congress, as well as no longer making donations to political, social, environmental and charitable causes. Full stop! I am also unsubscribing from any of the emails that I used to receive from political, social, environmental and charitable organizations. In fact, I am even cancelling all of my monthly political donations to the main Democratic fundraising and coordinating organizations, as well as to the USO (United Service Organizations), in addition to cancelling all of my monthly news organization subscriptions, or news organization donations, because I am absolutely terrified of this second Trump administration. And I fully expect that democracy in America as we know will be over! So, I am choosing to not engage in any 'activism' whatsoever—plus, I am not even sure that I will be exercising my 'civic duty' by voting in any upcoming elections because, as a (formerly) donating and a (potentially former) voting Democrat, I totally fear the retribution of President Donald J. Trump. Full stop! –Paul Whiting (written November 6th, 2024 and revised November 7th, 2024)
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This "Paul Whiting — A Creative Writer" Post No. 279 was edited on November 7th, 2024.
"Poetry is using the fewest words possible in order to describe all that is possible to describe." –Paul Whiting [June 1st, 2022]
