Lady Liberty Whispers:
It Shouldn’t Have to Happen to You for it to Matter to You
written by: Ann Marie Gardinier
Fellow human beings lay in the streets with nowhere to go,
We step over them, averting our eyes, as we rush to our own homes.
I’m not unhoused
But I believe there’s room for us all under these spacious American skies.
Women bring babies into the world as they slip out of it,
Some women dying at three times the rate of other women.
I’m not a Black woman
But I believe every woman has a right to safe maternal care.
Our kids attend neighboring schools but they don’t all have the same school supplies.
Some carry new backpacks filled with markers, pencils, and notebooks labeled with their names
While others carry worn backpacks heavy with barriers, obstacles, and worries,
Weighing them down like anchors, keeping them in their place.
They may be young but they know that equality is not the same as equity.
I’m not a child but I know every kid deserves a fair chance to reach their full potential.
It shouldn’t have to happen to you for it to matter to you.
My sister is not part of the LGBTQ+ community
But she believes that queer people should enjoy equal rights and live authentically without fear.
My brother has never been incarcerated
But he’s concerned with the prison industrial complex and racial disparities in the system.
My neighbor is not a woman
But he believes women have the right to bodily autonomy.
My colleague does not need mental health services
But they believe that mental health care is healthcare and should be accessible to everyone.
It shouldn’t have to happen to you for it to matter to you.
It matters to our strong and mighty teacher, Lady Liberty.
Since 1886 she has welcomed the tired, the poor,
And those yearning to breathe free,
The immigrants who built this crucible of cultures.
If she tested us on the realization of our foundational ideals,
Liberty and justice for all,
Would she lament over our failures?
Would her tears extinguish her flame of hope?
Would she sink into the water? Would she crumble?
Or would she stand strong, a true goddess-sister of freedom, and ask:
In this land of dreamers, do we support the American dream, or tax it?
In this land of plenty, do we condone children going to bed hungry?
In this land of opportunity, do we accept corruption, cronyism, and greed?
If we’d only listen, we could learn from our Enlightened Lady,
Her wisdom whispered from the mouth of the Hudson River:
We the People of the United States can question and challenge.
We can speak up, even when our voices shake.
We can pledge allegiance to the truth.
We can act in the name of democracy.
Our action is an act of patriotism.
Let us not become silent about things that matter.
Let us instead gallantly scream about things that matter.
It shouldn’t have to happen to you for it to matter to you.
If it happens just one time
If it happens to just one group of people
If it happens to just one person
It matters.
- Voices in the Mirror - August 12, 2025
- Lady Liberty Whispers - May 29, 2025
