America Is An Island Where the Rules Never Changepick the one piece of culture thatbest captures the country. If we’re going to understand America, let’s dive right into the dark pools of social pain that underlie our bitterness and division. Listen to “Dark Was theNight, Cold Was the Ground”by Blind Willie Johnson. It opens:Dark was the night, and cold the groundOn which the Lord was laid;His sweat like drops of blood ran down;In agony he prayed. The night in question is a cruel ordeal that anticipates the light and warmth of the coming dawn.

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Persons: topick, Let’s, Willie Johnson’s, ” Johnson, you’re, Blind Willie Johnson, Thomas Haweis, Albert Murray, Murray, Black Locations: America