Carry Us Home

The power of love, resilience and betterment for all this Valentine's Day season and beyond

For many Americans, disillusionment hangs heavy in the air these days. As the Trump Administration swiftly passes executive orders and leverages political capital in all directions, we are left scratching our heads and wondering if this is still the home of the iconic American Dream. Meanwhile, others in our midst are celebrating, reveling in each brash move.

Political difference isn’t new in America; it has been at the heart of this great nation since before day one. What does seem new, however, is the manner in which we treat each other as we work through these philosophical differences and how disparate our concepts of the American Dream must be.

According to the Internet’s Microsoft Copilot, “The American Dream is a national ethos of the United States, based on the belief that every person has the freedom and opportunity to succeed and attain a better life. It emphasizes upward mobility achieved through sacrifice, risk-taking, and hard work. The American Dream is an aspirational belief that all individuals are entitled to success and upward social mobility.”

Two classic images come immediately to mind when I think of the American Dream.

The first is the Statue of Liberty, accompanied with the following lines from The New Colossus by American poet Emma Lazarus:

"Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

And the second is Norman Rockwell’s 1961 “Golden Rule” painting. Inspired by the fact that religions around the world have such similarity with the Golden Rule concept to “Do Unto Others As You Would Have Them Do Unto You.” This image has captured the essence of a “melting pot” America as far back as I could remember.

The Golden Rule was taught in our tiny, rural, non-denominational Diamond Community Church in Bourbon County, Kansas. It also inspired a c.23,000-piece mosaic presented to the United Nations in 1985 as a gift on behalf of the United States by then First Lady Nancy Reagan. Its omnipotence and ubiquity is unignorable.

Here are Rockwell’s notes identifying the universal concept across religions.

According to Christianity.com, “The Golden Rule is the ethical principle of treating other people as one's self would prefer to be treated. One of Jesus' most famous and impactful teachings, the Golden Rule can be found in the Bible verses Matthew 7:12 and Luke 6:31:

“So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.” Matthew 7:12

“Do to others as you would have them do to you.” Luke 6:31”

Unfortunately, as of this Valentine’s Day, I have a new disturbing image representing the American Dream that’s not so inspiring. It’s a social media message shared by the White House in the form of a cutesy poem turned cruel. And, with 36 million views, it too is hard to ignore.

This is mean-spirited and unnecessary. We’ve been regulating immigration to the US in some form or another since 1790, and immigration policies will continue. Immigrants play a vital role in the economy, especially in the ag sector in Iowa, and will for the foreseeable future. Massive deportation would make these expensive eggs even more outlandish to the average consumer. So, why be so sardonic in an official White House communications form?

The late John Prine wrote The Great Compromise in 1972 as the protracted conflict of the Vietnam War trudged along. Prine talks about this song years later, "The idea I had in mind was that America was this girl you used to take to drive-in movies. And then when you went to get some popcorn, she turned around and screwed some guy in a foreign sports car. I really love America. I just don't know how to get there anymore."

Born in Illinois, Prine served in the US Army, worked as a mailman and had an uncanny ability to use metaphor, witticisms and humor to tell a story. Listening to John Prine songs is what ultimately motivated me to take pen to paper and try my hand at songwriting.

As such, I almost always cover a Prine song when performing live and The Great Compromise will be on my forthcoming setlists at xBk Live, Board and Batten and Byron’s in Pomeroy. I, too, am disillusioned with our America right now, but I am not about to stop believing in her.

I have too much respect for her great ideals and the wonderful people like my grandfather PFC Richard D. Hixon that have worked so hard to uphold and defend them. America is full of amazing people with hearts the size of the Iowa State Fair that care deeply about each other. The national narrative simply isn’t consistent with how the vast majority of us live our daily lives being good to each other. Holding doors, engaging in some small talk, checking in on a friend, all sorts of Golden Rule behavior taking place every day from coast to coast. Let’s have our political differences but let’s also be better in our discourse.

Several years back, I wrote a love song called Carry Us Home about a middle-aged couple amidst some turmoil. Frustration exists in the relationship and dreams once sought now feel unattainable. But the simmer of true love remains, albeit masked by the demands of everyday life. The protagonist must confess their love to revitalize the relationship. And the recognition of this mutual love in an imperfect situation becomes their greatest power as they find a renaissance in their relationship.

The more I play this song out these days, the more it seems to be morphing into a metaphor for me personally like Prine’s The Great Compromise. The American Dream is beautiful, especially when it’s a dream shared by all of us every night.

Carry Us Home

I don’t know where the time has gone and if we’ll ever find it again

If memory serves me right, I was wrong most of the time back then

If the lights go out, would you stay in the dark?

Tell me a story, where we’re not apart

And, love, is gonna carry us home

Love, is gonna carry us home

Your eyes look tired and my mind likes to think about what might have been

Our road’s well-travelled but it’ll be different this time my friend

If you give me a whisper of love to light a new spark

I’ll sing you a song straight from my heart

And, love, is gonna carry us home

Love, is gonna carry us home

These memories run together like the mist of yesterday’s dawn

Some better than others I pray you think of the good ones

‘Cos where would I be without you in my life

Go if you must but know you’ll always brighten my skies

And, love, is gonna carry us home

Love, is gonna carry us home

Thank you for reading Chip Happens. To find more stories and insights across the state of Iowa, please consider following and supporting the many talented journalists and storytellers of the Iowa Writer’s Collaborative.