REVIEW: Lyle Greenfield — Uniting the States of America (BOOK)
“It’s often difficult for us to think about…things; the vast majority of our time is usually spent thinking about our own lives — our problems, hopes and dreams — in the present tense,” writes Lyle Greenfield, in his new book entitled Uniting the States of America: A Self-Care Plan for a Wounded Nation. He’s able to start the book from an intensely personal place, then use analogies and euphemisms to connect the dots to the broader point, which in terms of summarization is really quite simple.
Reuniting a broken America, reestablishing ourselves as one people, in one nation, under the God we worship, with life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness for all. It’s a deeply inspirational thing to state, without provisos or diversions. Greenfield cuts through all of the divisive BS, getting to the heart of the matter without preaching, proselytizing, or finger-wagging. Simply put, he makes the reader feel empowered. “Let’s peel away some layers from the idea of Uniting the States of America and get to the heart of it,” he writes, in a key passage. “The things that are most important to us, from our precious children and closest friends to our homes and valued possessions, we care for them. And when they’re hurt or broken, we comfort them, we repair them. We don’t ignore them.
AMAZON: https://www.amazon.com/Uniting-States-America-Self-Care-Wounded-ebook/dp/B0D96RYKDF
There’s no question that the majority of us do love this extremely diverse country, though that love may have been lying dormant for a while. It’s time to reawaken that love, and respect, for our country. We can do so much better than bitch and moan about the way things are or seem to be. And we must. That’s our job. Let’s accept that responsibility for ourselves and demand it of the ones we elected to lead us. And remember, we’re doing this for Ava, and for your grandkids, and your sons and daughters, and for the newlyweds. And out of respect for the ones who gave their lives so we could be here today, having this discussion.”
He adds a beautiful anecdote from this, making the aforementioned passage as a sociopolitical articulation not just stick ideologically, but personally. Simply put, “…Just as I was finishing this book the 66th annual Grammy Awards came on the air. February 5th, 2024. I wasn’t expecting it, but suddenly heard the familiar opening acoustic guitar notes of ‘Fast Car,’ the poignant folk hit written and recorded by Tracy Chapman in 1988. 35 years later, in 2023, it was covered by country music singer Luke Combs, for whom it became a Number One Country hit and winner of the CMA Award for Song of the Year. Now these two very different performers were sharing the Grammy stage, singing ‘Fast Car’ as a duet, each looking at the other with respect and love,” Greenfield writes. “…I went to YouTube to view the original video for ‘Fast Car.’ It now has millions of new views, of course, following that Grammy performance.
Scrolling through the many comments, this one caught my attention: ‘I’m a metalhead and not even a fan but that brought my bearded ass to tears.’ And I thought, Somewhere in that line is the proof we can do this, if we just hear that voice of America calling to us, ‘Come back, baby, come back.’”
Colin Jordan
