Where is the Shining City on a Hill?

Where is the shining city upon a hill? It may be out there…somewhere. But its lights have dimmed… There are dark shadows where little or no light shines. Where is this beacon of hope? The eyes of all people are now searching… It seems the city on a hill has become little more than a rumor beset by threats without and chaos within. It was said that the city was constructed by people aware of a great responsibility and they came from everywhere… they did not come as black, white, red or yellow… they did not come as Christians, Muslims or Jews… nor as conservatives or liberals, Republicans or Democrats. They came from all corners of the earth… and they came to be Americans… awed by what had come before and proud to be where they were. It was a proud city built on foundations stronger than storms and seas… blessed by God - whatever they conceived God to be – teeming with people just wanting to live in harmony and peace. And if the city had walls then the walls had doors and the doors were never locked… They were open for anyone with the will and the heart to get there. The city on a hill had a glow that held steady no matter what storm… a beacon for those from forsaken places struggling through the darkness to where there was warmth, brightness and safety… a place they could truly call home. But gradually, the city began to crumble insidiously from within: the pillars that held it in place slowly eroded… erosions created by prejudice – ad hoc and systemic. Now the erosion, decline and decadence pervade from the top and trickles downward spreading its poison… A hellstorm is lurking. And yet… in spite of the darkness, light still shines. The shining city on a hill may recover because we have to believe that love trumps anger, hope trumps fear, optimism trumps despair. And we’ll just keep on keeping on.