I love The Star-Spangled Banner. I get a tingly sensation every time I hear it performed. I would have to say that this song has affected my life the most for two reasons.
First, I was not born in this country - I am an adoptee from Seoul, Korea. At the age of six months I came to the United States, but ended up moving to Korea when I was six and a half because my dad was in the military. Many people here in America truly do not know how blessed we are to live in such a country and take for granted all the privileges, opportunities, and freedoms we possess as American citizens. If I had lived as a Korean citizen I would have had no opportunity to attend college and most likely would not even have a chance to get a decent job for a living. Being an American citizen is definitely one of the greatest blessings and opportunities in my life.
The second reason is that the National Anthem is the first song I ever performed for an audience. It was the National Anthem that made my parents and I realize that I could sing and instilled a desire in me to perfect and use that gift to reach out to others.
The classic lyrics are amazingly inspiring and still apply to us today even though it was written over two hundred years ago. My favorite is the third verse which is not very well known – “Oh thus be it ever when the free man shall stand. Between their loved homes and the war’s desolation! Blest with victory and peace, may the heaven rescued land. Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation! Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just, and this be our motto: ‘In God is our trust!’And the Star-spangled Banner in triumph shall wave Over the land of the free and the home of the brave!”
That's pretty neat! I wish I had thought of doing this song!
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with you about taking freedoms for granted. Isn't funny how the most blessed nation in the world seems to find the most to complain about? On the other hand, you have a poverty ridden country that is just happy to get up and work in the morning. The American people don't know what it is to live by the standards of those who founded this country.
Wow. I agree with you and Ben. I never really paid much attention to the lyrics of the Star Spangled Banner, and I have lived here my entire life. Most people never really know how great you have it until you start traveling and seeing the world outside of your little box. The lyrics to the song have a significant meaning to them, very patriotic. I am glad you chose this song, and through your explanation, I have a whole new appreciation for what was once a song I couldn't stand to sing in elementary school. As for Americans complaining so much, well, this happens to be a very greedy and lately very lazy country. Unfortunately a lot of values and respect in our country has been lost over time, and this has been the result for it. We are being laughed at and hated by other countries because America is more concerned about the race of our president and the rich staying filthy rich than anything else. These issues are minor compared to real issues in the world. Wars, poverty, death. When was the last time America had to dig a hole for water? When is the last time America has seen their country invaded, or many of their citizens die from starvation, or lack of treatment for a very common ilness resulting in death. We don't have these things occur over here on our soil. 9/11 happened once, only once on our soil. But many countries live a terror far worse than our "9/11" almost everyday. So I am proud to be an American, but my heart really hurts for the all of mankind. I just wish America would wake up, and stop complaining so much, be grateful for what blessings we do have. We don't wake up and relive a nightmare day after day. We haven't had to kill someone so that we can have water or food. I mean really, we are a bunch of spoiled, ungrateful brats in the eyes of other countries. Nevertheless, I wouldn't want to be anywhere else. This is our country, and with all of our faults, I still love America.
ReplyDeleteI have to agree with y'all as well. This truly is an amazing song and it is sad that people don't realize how lucky they are to live in America. We are in a great country and that's why I've decided to do Air Force ROTC. I want to be able to show how thankful I am for living in this country by joining the Air Force and defending the people who live here. Even if they do complain all the time. Maybe one day they will notice just how lucky they are.
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