It is a bold idea, dear reader, to suggest that someone write a new national anthem, but there's nobody who could do it, and only a fool would try. Think about the poems written for inaugurations: they all got decent burials, and nobody will ever read them again. Francis Scott Key's magnificent poem isn't about national power and triumph; it's about survival, and that is its brilliance as a national anthem - so much is left unsaid. The song has been abused by aging divas and faded pop stars and every soloist who ever sang it, but when it's put in the people's key and sung by a crowd, it's thrilling. People think they don't know the words, but they do. You come to "land of the free" and the sopranos rise up like angels, and the "home of the brave" is majestic, and everybody feels great at the end.
I digest that. I like his words, and I would like to see a world anthem. I consider the controversy about the national anthem being sung in Spanish. I think Francis Scott Key is probably thrilled it is still sung, and probably he doesn't care about the language in which it is sung.
I read this in the NY Times today. "A new U.S. antimissile site in Europe would be designed to stop attacks by Iran against the United States and its European allies." I continue to wonder why we have money for a whole new project for defense, and nothing for the deteriorating infrastructure in this country. I guess the difference is there are no limits on money for defense. It is more fun to bid on those projects, and the bidders are the friends of our ever-so-friendly leaders. They are all buddies.
I am reading a wonderful book called The Soul of Money by Lynne Twist. Jim, our horse therapy leader, mentioned it to a woman who was surprised when he said there are societies where cooperation is the norm. The people do not compete against each other. They unite to ignite. What a concept! I recommend the book. It is about "transforming your relationship with money and life."