18 Comments
User's avatar
Lisa Joy 💜🏳️‍🌈's avatar

Beautiful! Love the simplicity and imagery within this very few words.

Expand full comment
Nick Paro's avatar

Thank you, Lisa—I hope this inspired a little extra patriotism in you today!

Expand full comment
Lisa Joy 💜🏳️‍🌈's avatar

Hmm. I never considered trying to be extra patriotic? 🤔

Now I have to ponder my level of patriotism.

Expand full comment
Nick Paro's avatar

Let’s stop using measuring patriotism by the metrics of the right—to me patriotism is about uplifting the dream and promise of America for all people.

Expand full comment
Lisa Joy 💜🏳️‍🌈's avatar

I have been crazy level passionate about a country that works for all people. Yesterday I wrote an open letter to the Democratic Party suggesting they adopt “Rebuilding the Promise to the American People” for their focus in upcoming elections, and mean it.

Expand full comment
Nick Paro's avatar

This exactly—be the change you want to see. Do little things too. Run a weekly food drive, start a story hour at your local library and read to the kids in town, do things that show what it means to trend a democracy.

Expand full comment
Eva Kyle's avatar

Like all people 🤷‍♀️

Expand full comment
Judith Fenley's avatar

Read Wendell Barry poem — Manifesto Farmer Liberation front.

It is my go to poem to share. The haiku is another. I believe you’ll appreciate this one too.

Expand full comment
Caro Henry's avatar

Yes! Prune the diseased, old, and dead.

Expand full comment
Nick Paro's avatar

Let us encourage growth and progress, rather than weigh ourselves down with dying branches

Expand full comment
Caro Henry's avatar

In the garden, judicious pruning does encourage growth. Dead and dying branches on a tree could be hazardous in the next storm and weaken the tree overall. Could we say the same about political systems?

Expand full comment
Nick Paro's avatar

I dare say we can—and must. Thomas Jefferson spoke of natural law and the need to re-establish laws for and by the living generations. We should heed those words and update our civil understanding and laws for the modern age.

Cut back where bloated, encourage and grow where under cared for, and all with a single root foundation that freedom, liberty, and justice are for all — equally.

Expand full comment
paige sisserman's avatar

What does prune the old mean?

Expand full comment
Nick Paro's avatar

Let go of outdated laws and language that doesn’t encompass all people of the American society—amending and growing the constitutionally guaranteed freedoms, rather than restricting.

Expand full comment
paige sisserman's avatar

??

Expand full comment
Judith Fenley's avatar

Being a gardener i totally resonate with your haiku.

It is beautiful, deep wisdom, speaking truth.

As a gardener, we know that pruning is an essential part of tree or shrub or even flower vitality. If not, pruned becomes a tree or most any plant will become unhealthy, diseased, and potentially dies.

Here we are on the brink… let us so prune as to give life support and nurture the tree. Thank you. 🙏🏼

Expand full comment
Nick Paro's avatar

Thank you for that kind response and your story! I love hearing why this matters—your experience reminds me of the importance of this. 🫶🏼🇺🇸

Expand full comment
GREIW's avatar

We have some major pruning to do! The weeds have taken over the garden and are choking our life out! Where’s the Paraquat?

Expand full comment