I am thankful for a man called Amos.
This has been a year of profound loss but with it came profound gratitude. I lost my father one year ago, Nov. 29, 2023. He was blessed with a long life of 98 years. Although he lived to an age only a few of us will see, it was still difficult to watch him die in my hands. That moment will stay with me forever.
But it was not haunting. It was profoundly spiritual. In that moment, I had an epiphany. This man not only gave me life but a great appreciation of it.
His many life lessons I hear ringing in my ear: The greatest relationship you’ll ever have is with yourself. There are those who do not have your best interests at heart. You can’t get lost in America.
Wendell Pierce
He understood that on life’s journey, you have to exercise your right of self-determination. You can only control your contribution to the paradigm. Develop yourself, educate yourself and believe in yourself to get the best out of this life.
A Black man born into the Depression, in a segregated Jim Crow America, only a few decades after centuries of slavery, my father experienced the darkest and most violent side of human nature.
At 17, he fought in World War II in Saipan. War’s violence left an indelible mark on his spirit. These experiences informed him of the evil in the human condition that he warned us of from the moment we reached an age of comprehension. There are those who do not have your best interests at heart. Be ever vigilant.
“You can’t get lost in America” is a saying that expressed my father’s love of travel (which I inherited), his appreciation of the interstate highway system and his belief in a democracy he risked his life defending. He loved his country when it did not love him back.
But he fervently believed in the idea of the transformative power to form a more perfect union. He was a proud man of the Civil Rights Era. A man of that Moses generation who left a blueprint for social justice change and civil disobedience.
That is the promise of this country he believed in. With purpose and a promise, “You can’t get lost in America.”
I am thankful for a man called Amos.