Reflections on the Way to Work

On the eve before election day I had the privilege and honor to attend a free concert by the US Army Field Band.  After a very contentious period of Presidential campaigns and more than a year of stressed relationships between different groups of people throughout the country I can’t help but ask “Where has all the American Patriotism gone?”  Is anyone proud of America and to be  American?  Where is the leadership, both political and non-political that drives all Americans to be patriotic and proud to be part of our country.  Election Day was followed by Veterans Day, where again, we are reminded to remember the men and women who made sacrifices in order for Americans to have the freedoms that our forefathers intended.  However, while Veterans Day is time to celebrate our Veterans and American Patriotism, this year it too was clouded in negativity rather than Patriotism. 

American Patriotism is never constant, it comes and goes like the highs and lows of a volatile market.  After 9/11, American patriotism was at an all time high, similarly during the Olympics or World Cup Soccer championship you see patriotism rise.  Whatever issues exist that challenge and impair the peace and prosperity of America and impair our ability to be proud of America, we need to work together through those issues, peacefully, professionally and with an open mind.

At the US Army Field Band Concert, they sang two songs, the lyrics of which every American should keep front and center.  They drive patriotism and more importantly, they remind us why America is a great country and why each and everyone of us should  be proud, thankful, focused and see the America that the lyrics portray.  The words speak for themselves.  I hope we put the election and the divide in the country behind us, move forward as a country and embrace the patriotic spirit that the lyrics inspire and be proud to be American and proud of America!
The first song is: “The House I Live In”.  I wasn’t familiar with the song but as I heard the words it was so beautiful and the lyrics had a very healing message.  I did a search and I found a Frank Sinatra recording from a live concert where he first introduced the song.  In his introduction to the song he said the following: “In the United States when people ask me “Where I am from” I say: “I am a Yankee from New Jersey” and when I go to a foreign country, the answer to where I am from is “America not New Jersey”.  When I go to a another country I become more consicous of my roots.  Most of us feel more patriotic and we think about our country a little more than you do when you are home.  It is a song that answers the question “What is America to Me?”  The music was written by Earl Robinson and the lyrics by Lewis Allen.”

The second song is “Patriotic Prologue”, which I couldn’t find who wrote it, but I understand that it is sung by the United States Army Field Band and Soldier’s Chorus at most of their concerts.  It is then followed by the singing of the National Anthem.

Here are the lyrics.  May they inspire you to recapture, embrace, teach and spread a spirit of American Patriotism.

What is America to Me? 

What is America to Me?
A name, a map or a flag I see
A certain word, democracy
What is America to me?
The House I live in
A plot of earth
A Street
A grocer and the butcher and 
the people that I meet
The children in the playground
The faces that I see
All races and religions
That’s America to me
The place I work in 
The worker by my side
The little town or city 
Where my people live and died
The howdy and the handshake
The air of feeling free
And the right to speak my mind out
That’s America to me
The things I see about me
The big things and the small
The middle corner newsstand or
The house a mile tall
The wedding and the churchyard
The laughter and the tears
And the dreams that’s been growing for more than 200 years
 The town I live In
The street, the house, the road
The pavement of the city or
A garden all in bloom
The church, the school, the clubhouse
The million lights I see
But it’s surely the people
That’s America to Me
Patriotic Prologue 

I believe in the United States of America
As a government of the people, by the people, for the people
Whose just powers are derived by the consent of the government
A democracy in a Republic
A sovereign nation of many sovereign states
Of every union, one and inseparable
Established upon those principles of freedom, equality, justice and humanity
For which American Patriots sacrificed their lives and fortunes
I therefore believe it is my duty to my country
To honor
To support its constitution 
To obey its laws 
To respect its flag and 
To defend it against all enemies
May God Bless America!