patriotism

Went to see the fireworks from Queens on Independence Day. It was fun to be in the crowd that gathered in the street, all the different languages, packs of children sitting on the roofs of cars to get a better look. I was there with a friend of mine, a Moroccan, who will be taking his oath as a US citizen in a few more months. After all that’s happened, it’s a relief that he still wants to. He told me that democracy rests on having many choices, so he plans to join the Green party. More power to him, I say.
Every year I make it a point to sing America the Beautiful, first AND second verses. Most people don’t seem to know the second one, so here it is:

O beautiful for patriot dream
That sees beyond the years
Thine alabaster cities gleam
Undimmed by human tears!
America! America!
God mend thine every flaw,
Confirm thy soul in self-control,
Thy liberty in law!

I like the acknowledgment that as a nation we have flaws. And that it is patriotic to go about fixing them. That’s an attitude sadly missing from the consciousnesses of some people whose names we won’t mention.

Wonder what it would take to change the national anthem?