LAST NIGHT, when I picked up a pizza at Save-U-More for KBBI’s annual meeting/potluck, I heard, then saw, eagles perched in an aphid-sapped spruce tree outside the door that opens off the meat department. Eagles have a high-pitched “voice.” Not what you expect from the national bird of the United States of America.
Oh, yeah, eagles are flashy, big, and bossy. Their beaks and talons are menacing, but their voice doesn’t impress. It’s more of a peep. Ravens, however, in their sleek blue-black feathers, have a voice that means business, that commands attention. I could swear I just heard one say, “Forevermore.”
FOREVERMORE this United States of America means liberty and justice for all, equal opportunities for all. It means that we take care of each other—that an excellent education and affordable, effective healthcare are the rights of all and not privileges for a few. It means that all of us who are able contribute to the common good through fair taxation.
We expect wisdom from the national bird, and right now, today and tomorrow, forevermore, we need all the wisdom we can get. We have a lot of work to do for the people and for the planet. I nominate the raven for national bird.
The Cheechako Diaries 