MAYBE WE NEED A NEW SONG

The last stanza of each verse of Francis Scott Key’s original Star Spangled Banner is “O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!” In the first stanza he asks:

…”does that star-spangled banner yet wave

O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?”

I contend that it does not. The terrorists have already won. They no longer need to lob, drive or fly bombs into buildings representing our government and its allies, or even toss threats because that which made America a dream, a goal, a destination point, an example of exemplary government and lifestyle; that freedom to speak, assemble, worship, travel, learn, raise our children our way, and more, either does not exist or is being eroded faster than I can type.

“They want to destroy us”. There is a political ad that says this. It says they want to kill us as well. There are more ways to die than physically. How about death of freedom, death of the spirit that made this country unique; death of fearlessness or the rise of fear from internal and external sources? No longer are we so brave. We are – cautious, scrutinizing our neighbors and anyone who we do not know – death can come from many sources. Are we alive if we are captors of fear and prejudice? What about that ad? How effective is it in perpetrating this death of freedom? And guess what? It is not prepared by “terrorists” but by those among us who want us to think that all middle easterners are plotting against us. Or is it the Mexicans or the French.

We are no longer free to move around the cabin. We are searched. We are chastised for doing what may seem reasonable at the time. Maybe they find sewing scissors in a woman’s pocket book? What if she is a crafts person? What if they were so deep in the bottom of the bag that they were just overlooked? What if she has an olive complexion? Maybe now she is a person of interest. With the new law before the senate, whether she is a citizen or not, she may be held indefinitely without due process. Who is passing that law? Not the terrorists – at least not the ones we are supposed to be protecting ourselves from.

We are now free to choose our own gated community. That will keep us free provided we follow the rules, ask for permission to paint our houses the right color and keep our grass the right length. We may be lucky enough to get in to a co-op apartment or flat – that is if we meet the criteria and can afford the monthly dues. We are no longer really free to express ourselves nor is it truly lawful to assemble to protest as it was guaranteed by our constitution of old.
What has happened to the land of the free and the home of the brave? Where is it now, America? What has happened to those people who believed in fighting for a just cause and not fighting a concept?

Let's do as we should always do – review our past. There was a time when we were not at war or looking for war. There was a time when we proudly sang of an America as

My country,' tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing;
land where my fathers died,
land of the pilgrims' pride,
from every mountainside let freedom ring!

A stanza every American could sing because at some time or another, someone in the family fought and died for the freedom safety and liberty of this country.
We proudly sang the last verse:

Our fathers' 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, great God, our King.

And did not question one word in it because it was true. Was true. Let's look and see how the road of freedom has narrowed to a path. How long will it be before it becomes a trail, a pass – a memory erased by modern day revisionists.

The terrorists have already won. They can rest on their laurels and reclaim their countries while we implode. We are self destructing via corrupt and immoral leadership. We are destroying ourselves by feeding the fire of distrust. We are destroying -ourselves. While we tilt at windmills, shadowbox with imaginary foes and flail around like blinded Cyclops', the terrorists can heal and return to being law abiding citizens in their countries. America used to stand for justice and freedom and things positive. Oh say, can you see – I think not.