Ramparts, really?

The next time you hear the Star Spangled Banner, I implore you to contemplate the words.

 

 

We hear this anthem at sporting events, and certainly during the Olympics.  Sometimes we are moved to tears just listening to the familiar tune, watching as our fellow Americans reverently honor this land of the free.  Few people take the time to consider that this song is actually a poem about personal and communal sacrifice.

 

How great would it be if more of us today considered the acts of sacrifice that had to be made “through the night” while bombs burst in the air to protect our flag and our freedom?  I'm not necessarily trying to make a point about patriotism here, though I think that is a fine and noble characteristic.  Instead, my hope is that we could all do some translation and interpretation into our own worlds.

 

What do we sacrifice?  What comforts are we willing to forgo for a greater purpose?

 

How fascinating it is that that we are so emotionally drawn in when we witness an athlete standing under our flag listening to that anthem about sacrifice, even as the athlete herself undoubtedly made tremendous sacrifices in her own life to make it onto that very platform.

 

Now, it is very likely that none of us will ever win a gold medal in the Olympics, and perhaps we won’t even win any congressional medals for patriotism or bravery.  But I propose that each of us can embrace the idea of sacrifice at a deeper level.  Furthermore, it is my hope and my prayer that when we hear our nation's great anthem, we will take it as a reminder to be great in our own lives.

 

We are living in paradoxical world.  Our very freedoms as Americans can often encourage a bizarre form of selfishness.  There are messages all around us, nudging us to engage in selfish pursuits.  How ironic it is that the song we sing to honor this great land has at its very core a message of sacrifice.

 

The next time you hear it, I hope you are encouraged to act sacrificially.  It is the authentic American way.