LMAC Freestyle: The USA, a Union but not Uniform
I live in the United States. My country has been making headlines because of our recent presidential election. I've been sorting this out intellectually, and emotionally. One thing I'd like to try to clarify for people who live here and more especially for people who don't is that though we are the United States, the states are not a uniform entity.
From the beginning of our country we were knit together with compromise because we were such a disparate people. We had rural interests, and urban interests. Agricultural interests and banking interests. Small farms and large plantations.
It was hard to have all these different interests come together in a country that we could call United. But we have managed. From time to time there is a hiccup, and the union then seems less united.
We are currently, I believe, in one of those times.
Today I offer two collages. The first shows how the different states in the union are distinct, and have different laws and different personalities. Some of our laws are mandated by the federal government, but some, such as laws governing education, are controlled by the states. I hope you find the following collage entertaining and mildly instructive. The key to the different phases of the collage is provided here:
Three states where you can't drive until you are 18:
Massachusetts
Texas
FloridaFederal minimum age to drink is 21. One state where family members can give juveniles liquor:
TexasTwo states where there is no minimum age to marry, with parental consent:
California
MassachusettsState where importation of citrus fruit is prohibited:
CaliforniaState where sex toy sales are prohibited on Sunday:
FloridaState where election day is a holiday and a paid day off:
New York
Collage #2
We are divided, and yet we are united. At least, that is my hope. The ideals that have traditionally united us are expressed in a beloved song, which almost became our National Anthem, America the Beautiful.
The song was written in 1893 by Katherine Lee Bates and put to music in 1910 by Samuel A. Ward. Here are the words to the first two stanzas, which are the stanzas commonly sung by school children.
O beautiful for spacious skies,
For amber waves of grain,
For purple mountain majesties
Above the fruited plain!
America! America!
God shed His grace on thee,
And crown thy good with brotherhood
From sea to shining sea!
source
My second collage expresses the spirit of that song, and I hope suggests the unity that is my ideal, for my country. In these times we may need to be reminded of those things that tie us together. I have tried to express in the four images of the collage, the sentiment of the song's first verse. By blending those images instead of separating them in frames, I hope to suggest unity.
Here is a Youtube video of John Legend singing the first two verses of America the Beautiful.
I used GIMP and Paint 3D to extract, size and place images. I used GIMP to make the layers for the GIFs. My element sources were the LMAC LIL Gallery and Pixabay.
Sources Collage #1
Map
TheDigitalWay
Pixabay
Champagne
MIM326
Pixabay
Car
VarnaFolio
Pixabay
Wedding rings
Tatutati
Pixabay
Citrus
Stux
Pixabay
Love/couple
Vane
Pixabay
Voting
Mohamed_hassan
Pixabay
Sources for Collage #2
Spacious Sky LIL Gallery
@muelli
https://www.lmac.gallery/lil-gallery-image/8491
Amber waves of grain
Shogun
Pixabay
Purple mountains
espaciosyobjetos
pixabay
Fruited plain
ArtSpark
pixabay
Flowers on the fruited plain LIL Gallery
@yaziris
https://www.lmac.gallery/lil-gallery-image/7647
LMAC and LIL
The LMAC Collage Contest has undergone a bit of a refurbishment. We now run a monthly contest with the traditional format of a template and collages that are inspired by the template. We also run a second contest which has a theme. There is no template except the one in our heads. What does the theme suggest to us? Both contests are currently running. Jump in. Have some fun and maybe win some Hive.
But wait! There's more. Anytime you feel the inspiration to make a collage, no need to join a contest. Just make one! That's what I did today. I felt like saying something through collage and so I made two that expressed a feeling, and a thought. We accept and curate free-style collages all the time. Just follow the rules laid out in the contest announcement and we will curate your collage.
LIL is an intricate part of the LMAC community. It is a library comprised of images contributed by members of the Hive community. Anyone on Hive can contribute to the library, and anyone can borrow from it. All images in the library are in the public domain. Procedures for borrowing and contributing may be found on this post @shaka.
I hope you found my collages interesting. Thank you for reading my blog.
Peace and health. Hive on!
Gob Job!!
⭐️⭐️⭐️
Thank you, @doriangel!
Ohio also allows parents to give their kids alcohol too I think. My relatives live there and they have talked about it in the past.
There are a lot of states that allow kids to drink if their parents give it to them or if the alcohol is in the home. I just picked out a couple in each category to show the diversity of laws (by state) in the U.S. Perhaps I should add that the list is not exhaustive, but representative.
Ah, okay, no you are good. I'm just an anal jerk :)
😂😂😂
The unity of a country is so important to achieve socially fit and happy citizens and yet the odd game of political parties often seems to make us forget that.
I really liked your message and both collages... I'm still trying to figure out why sex toys can't be sold on Sunday. Whatever Floridians did to deserve it, hehe.
Have a great weekend ahead 😀
😂
I have to wonder how they sell during the rest of the week :)))
Have a wonderful weekend 🌷
This is what we are seeing in the news in the US and it is good news that Trump has won, it is also good news for the market and we pray that the people living there will also do the same. It will be beneficial.
Nice candid blend of your emotions towards home, @agmoore. I like the way you put it all together here in this post.
Thank you very much, @m1alsan
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STOPWow! Never expected such laws in some countries at the states... Alcohol to juveniles, no sales of sex toys on Sunday and the most shocking of them all, no age restriction to marriage.
More like what we have in my country... Hive has really opened my eyes and elevated my consciousness to know that nothing really different happens around the world.
In my country we are united yet divided. I used to be a die hard fan of one Nigeria but travelling to other states and mixing up with its people, reality became inevitable that we are not one. The only people united are the elites only when they want to take advantage of the masses.
I don't know, but it's sort of consoling that the political charade is not just a Nigerian thing but human nature.
Thank you for this enlightening piece ma'am 🌹
Hello @bipolar95
That's exactly what I was hoping for--understanding. As you say, the same issues follow us around the world. How do people from different backgrounds, with different religions and different ethnic heritages get along? Add to that conflicting economic interests--in the U.S. we settled it by giving states a certain amount of autonomy while at the same time preserving the supremacy of the central government. From what I've read about Nigeria, your country has dealt with the same issues.
I've no desire to live in Texas or Florida :))
Thanks for reading and for your feedback.
You are welcome 🤗