We have very little on our minds these days except Covid-19 and partisan politics, including women's rights, and how it's affecting our daily lives... And it seems we'll be fighting these issues well into next year...
However, this morning, I ask you to remember that there is another battle we are currently fighting, and that is our fight for the abolishment of racism... Racism has no single face and includes all ethnicities... So, I ask you to remember that 77 years ago, this week, atomic bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki finally forcing the end of World War II. This ended the shameful period of American history when citizens of Japanese American descent were interred, without a cause, in 10 major concentration camps located around the United States. I spent my three at Amache, a camp in Colorado at the foot of the Rocky Mountains.
So, this morning, I will be sharing a song written by Tom Russel, a cowboy I heard about from the San Luis Obispo area... He wrote a song called "Manzanar", about another concentration camp located near big pines in the Eastern Sierra... It captures the feelings of living in camps and the suffering of our Nisei fathers and mothers... This song is dedicated to all Americans of every race, color, and creed.