Preserving American Values

The other afternoon, I listened to a local band in small-town Maine play “America the Beautiful.”  And as I heard that music and thought of the song’s lyrics, tears came to me.  Why?  Because the President, Donald Trump, and his MAGA allies have corrupted everything that is good about our country and are rendering it decidedly unbeautiful,

The first verse of the song extols the beauty of our nature, of the environment.  Coming first, it sets the context for everything that has made America great.  It is nature that provided for us and inspired us. Yet this administration, more than any other in decades, is set on despoiling the environment by repealing regulations that kept industry from polluting and increasing the climate disorder that is threatening the future of our children’s lives.

The first verse also asks God to “crown His good with brotherhood throughout the country, from sea to shining sea.”  God, whether you look at it as the force of the Universe or in the more traditional sense, created the magnificence that is America’s bounty.  That is God’s good. The song asks that God crown that achievement with brotherhood.  

While over our 250-year history, there have been many segments of our citizenry that were not accepted as part of the brotherhood of America, that has in many ways improved over the years.  Yet more recently, under the Trump administration, that feeling of brotherhood has been torn asunder. Even many who used to feel part of the brotherhood of America no longer feel that way or are treated that way. And those who never were accepted are farther removed from that brotherhood than ever.

The next verse extols the freedom that was created in America (imperfect though we know it was).  It pictures a citizenry under God who exercise self-control and who understand that it is respect for the law the enables us to experience liberty. Under President Trump, never has the respect for the law, for our Constitution, been lower.  He and his allies have no respect for the law unless it serves them; they have no respect for any rights except their’s.  If ever there was a picture of lack of self-control, that is Donald Trump.

The next verse extols the heroes who have died for America.  There has been no shortage of such heroes throughout our history. That remains true to this day. Though it must be noted that since the end of the draft, rather than everyone being asked to risk their lives for their country, it is mainly the poor and disadvantaged, whether White or people of color, who have answered the call, not so much out of patriotism but as a way of improving the circumstances of their lives.

The final verse sees a future country and its cities “undimmed by human tears,” meaning that there will be no more human tears, not that the country will gleam despite human tears.  Unfortunately, we are a long way from reaching a state where each person, regardless of color, sex, ethnicity, or status, has been able to experience life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness so that, indeed, there are no more human tears.  

And Donald Trump is doing everything within his power to insure that a large segment of our citizens—those who are not affluent, women, or people of color—never get to that state. There will of course always be tears because of the nature of relationships between people, but I hope a day will come when the promise of our country stated in the Declaration of Independence will be realized and there will be no tears caused by human circumstances.

“America the Beautiful” is our de facto alternate national anthem. Once again, the Democratic Party must point out how Trump and his MAGA allies undermine the sentiments expressed in this anthem. Just as they must point out the final words of the Pledge of Allegiance, “with liberty and justice for all,” and how Trump violates this pledge every day (see my post, “The Pledge of Allegiance in the Mouths of MAGA Adherents Is Duplicitous”).