A poetry anthology recognizing America’s 250th birthday with contributions from members of the national League of Women Voters organization features a poem by a Central Coast woman.
Democracy’s Urgent Call: A Poetry Anthology by LWV Members includes Juliane McAdam’s poem “History Revisited.” She is a resident of Los Osos.
History Revisited
by Juliane McAdam
When my sister and I were young,
our grandmother, a clerk at the county courthouse,
brought us stacks of used index cards to play with.
The cards had names and information typed on them;
she said they were discards.
Many years later, in a college history class,
I studied the McCarthy era with its
induced paranoia about Communists, and
I remembered those index cards.
Typed on each one had been a phrase
my sister and I had never understood:
“LOYALTY OATH FILED.”
That seemed like ancient history to me in college,
but now, three generations later, we again face
challenges to our fundamental rights
of speech, assembly, and worship.
We see division in the social fabric,
attacks on immigrants, a turn away from
diversity and inclusion.
Now is there a threat of a loyalty oath
to a person and not to the Constitution?
The work of the League of Women Voters
has never been more urgent.