The United States Welcomes You

In an interview with Auburn Avenue, Tracy K. Smith identifies a central theme of “The United States Welcomes You”: “It became a poem about mistrust, and it begins, in the final lines, to suspect that such a stance of pre-emptive fear is dangerous to us all” (“Tracy K. Smith.” 2018. Auburn Avenue). Fear underlies all of the questions posed by the speaker of the poem. The first question is about “power” (Line 1), which illustrates how the speaker fears that someone, or some organization, has more power than the United States's law enforcement. The second question ostensibly demonstrates that the speaker fears the suspect is a thief. However, the repeated accusation of theft obscures other fears.

Mistrust and fear by law enforcement agents are rooted in the fear of difference. The cultural differences Smith highlights are how the body is used and how emotions are displayed. The question “Why this dancing?” (Line 3) demonstrates a traditional Protestant view (from the white settlers of America) of dancing as immoral and wrong. It also illustrates how people in power fear demonstrations of joy from people who have been traditionally oppressed. Law enforcement agents fear not only joy, but other demonstrations of emotion as well.