'AMERICA!' Voice Project
Thank you to everyone who has contributed! I set out to record folks from each of the 50 states reading a poem inspired by America The Beautiful. That goal was reached on May 25th, 2019 with a submission from the final state of Mississippi. The voices together act as the voice over for a short film. Thanks to everyone’s support $1500 has been donated to charity through the NRDC.
While the initial goal is complete if you would like to have your voice included in the interactive site you can still participate by emailing an audio recording of yourself stating your name and a reading of all or part of the poem to . If email isn’t your thing you can also participate by calling and leaving a voice message with your name and a reading. For instructions on how to record and share audio using an iPhone click here, or an Android device here.
More updates coming soon!
By emailing your audio or leaving a voice message you consent to having your voice included in the piece and agree that you are 18 years of age or older. Phone numbers will only be used if I need to contact you! Voice message recordings are limited to 3 minutes – multiple messages are okay if needed.
What kind of a people are we?
Spreading ourselves across a land,
From sea to shining sea.
What do we stand for?
We don’t have a state religion,
Or a state language.
What has bound us all?
Perhaps it is common belief in freedom.
The common language of compassion.
And the common scourge of selfishness.
But can we really be described,
By the ideals we seek?
Or at times have left behind?
Maybe what binds us is in the soil.
From the blood of generations past,
And reborn on the fruited plain.
No banner.
No name.
No zealots or righteous claims.
What grace was shed here?
It fell on the land we embrace.
It raised majestic mountains.
It set rivers flowing.
For the early people who crossed this land
Freedom called.
It still does,
Across the wilderness of thought.
How should we think now about that founding dream,
That saw beyond the years?
For while we may be flawed,
Our liberty is enshrined in law.
Are we a nation that builds walls?
No. We build roads.
And when a river must be crossed,
We build bridges.