You all know MY COUNTRY, 'TIS OF THEE (or AMERICA), and this link has a little of its history. The lyrics say a lot, but, I'm wondering if they say a LOT more these days, in every imaginable way, than they did even when they were written?
My country, 'tis of thee,
Is it really all about our country anymore for most Americans? Is it "of thee" we still rally around and protect and love and cherish? Is it ALL ABOUT AMERICA anymore with conservatives and liberals alike? Is it 'of thee' to want to change it as much as liberals would like with entitlements, freebies, hyphenated-nationalities, turning a blind(ed) eye to illegal immigrants for so long and even encouraging them? Are these things and more "of thee" or of something we're not sure about these days as we see things change so drastically? Where is that same strong and wonderful 'thee' we've sung about for so many years that emphasized the rights of individuals and honored the great success so many people in this country have had when we suddenly seem intent on taking away their success to feed and clothe those who are here illegally or those who don't care to work hard?
Sweet land of liberty,
Do we still celebrate liberty when we have to have laws for every single thing you can think of? Is it liberty to scoff parents who should have the right to decide what's best for their children? Is it liberty to prevent smokers from smoking near a building!? Is it liberty when we have a media that doesn't tell us the truth? Are we at liberty to say what we think or are we hampered by some weird political correctness to keep our mouths shut? IS that liberty?
Of thee I sing;
Do we all still celebrate America open heartedly or has some of that "we're not so hot" rubbed off on us as we hear it's overly patriotic to wear flag pins or hang the flag in front of our home? Do we still teach our children all the patriotic, pro American songs we learned as kids? Did our athletes at the Olympics just not know the words when most didn't sing the anthem on the medals stand or was it something else? Are we still singing of America's greatness or are we made to feel just a little 'over the top' when we do?
Land where my fathers died,
Do we all honor our forefathers who fought so hard in so many different generations' wars like we used to? Do we honor our kids who are fighting for us now as much as we should as a country? Has it really sunken into this generation of kids that this freedom they have now was hard fought for and how much they owe those who did the fighting? Do they appreciate that or do they even realize what it's like not to have freedom so it's not such a big thing to them?
Land of the pilgrims' pride,
Do all of us Americans still remember those who came here so many years ago and gave it their all so we'd have a great country of freedom and liberty and, yes, pride? Are we still PROUD? Are our kids being taught to be proud of this great country or taught to march against their president when he declares war? Does it engender pride when senators like Harry Reid tell high schoolers their president's a 'loser'? Is it 'pride' when we allow immigrants to steal into our country and live off of our tax dollars? Can we have a country to be proud of when we allow things like sanctuary cities which invite lawbreakers to live comfortably amongst us?
From every mountainside
Let freedom ring!
21 comments:
What a great thought for a blog.
Thanks for sharing.
Z said...
Throwing Stones...you closed to members only? Can't leave a comment there!!?? let me know at my site, okay? thanks.
It's open now, come on over
Hi, Throwing Stones..just left a FAR too long comment there..sorry!
You're doing a good job!!
What a wonderful dissertation, Z!
the Last verse doesn't need clarification and is being intentionally overlooked
Our Father's God, to Thee
Author of Liberty
To Thee we sing.
Long may our land be bright
With Freedom's holy light,
Protect us by Thy might,
God, our One True King.
Great and a very unusual blog Z
Good work.
Hope you and everyone else here had a great Holiday weekend.
This is another good post. I've been enjoying your blog. You express a lot of things I cannot put into words. Glad you're out there talking the talk.
Before you get deeply into this with pre schoolers why not ask them what they think is "freedom".
Wow Z that is a great idea. I remember learning this son prior to entering kindergarten. I am not sure our children even know this beauty of a song or the history behind it. I read the comments and ducky's here makes a good point about asking the children what they think freedom is.
I know children now - even pre-schoolers are probably more mature and savvy then I grew up - I had no clue what freedom was until First Grade. We were a lot more innocent back then and our parents sheltered us much more than now.
I bet it will go over great because freedom, G-d, and our great nation all go hand-in-hand.
thanks, everyone, such nice comments. I'm glad you enjoyed this; it just hit me that those words need a relook..or, more accurately, a RE appreciation!?
Layla, I'm afraid Ducky's idea of FREEDOM is different than mine would be. My idea of FREEDOM is not having the government breathing down my back. I hate to speak for him, but considering his comments, I'd say his idea of Freedom is the freedom to mess up and know the gov't will pick up the pieces...RIGHT, DUCKSTER!? :-)
From Every mountain side...
Let Freedom ring.
Tomorrow , September 3, marks the anniversary of the official ending of the American Revoulutionary War.
September 17, is the beginning of Constitution Week.
There will be bells ringing at 4:00 on Sept. 17, in various places across America to kick off the historical document, The Constitution.
I say these things because it is my job as a descendent of men who did sacrifice for this country to be born.
God Bless America.
WVDOTTR
Yes, z, we differ quite a bit. My point is that pre-schoolers probably haven't formed an idea of what freedom is so the song would be lost on them.
Maybe better to just have them talk or look at how basic situations during their school day bear on the idea?
Good info, WV....important days to remember, too.
Ducky, here's where we differ, too: Kids don't have to understand every term in a lyric to learn the song.
Did you see the Olympians barely mouthing a word of our anthem? they don't KNOW IT...I thought they were doing a "fist in the air" kind of protest that way, but they were slobbering over Bush and screaming USA, so i figured it's just ignorance that prevented them from singing our anthem.
OUr Preschool kids will know it...and they'll grow into the lyrics, except until the liberal indoctrination starts and they start hating the idea of freedom and liberty and "why is it only Ameirca that really has liberty, and shouldn't all countries feel that way and aren't we hubristic to sing this song and are we really THAT much better than N. Korea, and maybe we should do a resolution that makes sure people in East. Timor, too, learn their anthem.." and you get the idea!
Hey, that was kinda fun!
Well Z, you wrote,"My idea of FREEDOM is not having the government breathing down my back." And that is my idea of freedom too. The last thing we need imho is more nanny states.
Also, freedom to me means the right to choose, choose what I want or do not want to believe and or accept, practice my faith, and not be attacked by the left threatening lawsuits when we celebrate Christmas -- or for wearing green and or red during the Christmas holidays!
Sigh....
But the good thing is we are still free and G-d willing we will continue to remain free. I know G-d will bless this nation, afterall, for all our freedoms and all our "sins" we still are the most benevolent and giving nation in the world.
Also, it would be good for children to understand, as I did when I was taught about freedom (but probably a tad too much for pre-schoolers) that 'freedom is not free.'
Freedom isn't free, neither is oil.
Wonderful post, Z. It is such a wonderful project you have going with these little ones. Good to know they will be off to a good start for school.
love this one girl!..now ya got that song stuck in my head all day! lol
I didn't make it clear that I'm in no way using my comments on the lyrics with preschoolers!!
I simply got to thinking about the words while considering my new class that'll start in a few weeks, that's all.
Ducky, freedom comes at the expense of our men and women who understand America's worth fighting and even dying for.
Oil wouldn't have been a problem had the Democrats let the Republicans go ahead with the drilling plans they've proposed for the last 20 years or so. The Dems were too busy ignoring the facts about how much caribou thrive in the few places pipelines were laid and selling our public the caribou would die out.
I keep wondering how people can put caribou in front of our FREEDOM, but only you and your left can explain that.
thanks for all of your comments, I really appreciate them.
Excellent! Spot-on!
Hi people I just followed Throwing Stones’s link to a blog that I feel is much need for you to read and comment on. It's a blogger that calls himself a Conservative. But who I call "The Conservative Enemy From Within"
Tell me what YOU think
well the election may be over but the fight goes on.
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