Hillsdale College's choir singing "America the Beautiful":
O Ship Of State by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882):
Thou, too, sail on, O Ship of State!
Sail on, O Union, strong and great!
Humanity with all its fears,
With all the hopes of future years,
Is hanging breathless on thy fate!
We know what Master laid thy keel,
What Workmen wrought thy ribs of steel,
Who made each mast, and sail, and rope,
What anvils rang, what hammers beat,
In what a forge and what a heat
Were shaped the anchors of thy hope!
Fear not each sudden sound and shock,
’Tis of the wave and not the rock;
’Tis but the flapping of the sail,
And not a rent made by the gale!
In spite of rock and tempest’s roar,
In spite of false lights on the shore,
Sail on, nor fear to breast the sea!
Our hearts, our hopes, are all with thee.
Our hearts, our hopes, our prayers, our tears,
Our faith triumphant o’er our fears,
Are all with thee,—are all with thee!
This sonnet was penned eighteen years ago in reference to the Clintons‘ Whitewater woes, but I see now that the basic sentiments apply to the way politics is conducted all the time. Proof once more that "The more things change, the more they remain the same.” - FT
ReplyDelete_____ Sail On, O Ship of State ______
What the truth might be no one can find.
Hopeless is the quest on either side
Invested as they are in staying blind
To anything that points to Power denied.
Entrenched in battle lines made to endure,
Weapons drawn and ready to attack.
A motivating force that’s quite impure
Twists logic into seeing white as black.
Examining our leaders’ feet of clay
Removes us from confronting our own flaws,
While they decisive action can delay
On how to rid the Nation’s Face of yaws.
Electing pugilists who throw the fight
Scorches angels’ wings, yet sheds no light.
~ FreeThinke - The Sandpiper, Summer 1997
FT,
DeleteThat particular bit of verse is prophetic!
**sigh**
Addendum:
DeleteEspecially the line Electing pugilists who throw the fight.
Depressing video: FAIL - Americans Don't Know Why We Celebrate 4th of July! -- A CONVERSATION WITH THE GENERAL PUBLIC!
ReplyDeleteTeachers have done a great job NOT teaching our past, haven't they? I guess they need to find time for teaching global climate change and the glories of socialism, subtly or not so subtly.
DeleteHow does one love one's country when one is so utterly STUPID about what made it great?
Mark Dice's videos always make your jaw drop. Honestly, he had people signing petitions for Hitler once. I don't know how he keeps a straight face.
DeleteDice and that Watters fella never have any difficulty finding these yahoos, do they? Wow.
DeleteBaysider, is that the same guy? Didn't remember. Imagine?
DeleteI think if Obama'd run with a VP candidate called Adolph Hitler, he'd still have been elected.
AOW, I HOPE those are the exceptions, but Jerry's right; they don't seem to have difficulty finding them. PLUS, Watters is always so surprised when someone gets it right that we know he's not cherry picking only the more moronic ones! Unbelievable.
I hope parents are educating on patriotism, reminding kids this country's done more good than any other on the planet, but we have adults who still don't understand or appreciate that, don't we.
Heck, some hang here.
amen! Blessed Independence Day to you AOW and yours my friend!!! red white and blue hugsssssssss!!! :-)
ReplyDeleteWow, the harmonies in that video music are gorgeous and rather new, combining a few instead of just the expected one. Works well, doesn't it!?
ReplyDeleteHAPPY 4th, AOW. I'm afraid my post tomorrow is anything but joyful :-( It even surprised ME in its cautions.
Z,
DeleteUntil I saw this video, I had no idea that Hillsdale College offered such excellent in the Fine Arts!
M, one of my former homeschool students just graduated from Hillsdale. I don't know why I never thought of asking him about the music program there. M has a wonderful singing voice, and the next time I see him, I'll ask him if he was in the choir or the theatre program there.
Wishing you and Mr AOW a special weekend.
ReplyDeleteI'm praying for our ship of state. Have a safe and happy Independence Day.
ReplyDeleteThat seed of science Athens
ReplyDeleteAnd earth's proud mistress Rome.
Where now are all their glories?
You scarce can find their tomb.
So guard your rights Americans
Nor stoop to lawless sway.
Oppose, oppose, oppose, oppose [it] in North Americay.
American Revolutionary War Song
Have a blessed 4th, you and Mr. AOW.
I like that!
DeleteHave a great Independence weekend AOW's.
ReplyDeletehave a plinkin' good 4th!
ReplyDeleteBeamish,
DeleteGreat video! I hope that Warren has a few moments to watch it.
I LOVE this video. I want one of those!
DeleteHere's one of the comments (most were wonderful, of course...normal people)
Delete"DementedBlitz 8 hours ago
Liberating it with a drone strikes and levelling entire villages
America! Fuck ye!"
It's someone like this who's home waiting for his ISIS Tweet :-)
To go from THIS to leveling villages says a LOT, huh?
Mr. AOW and I aren't planning any hoopla for today. I have the weekend off from work.
ReplyDeleteBack to the grind on Monday. Gotta pay some bills: termite treatment, eye doctor (I just ran up another big bill!), real estate taxes, etc.
Monday comes too quickly, doesn't it AOW? Loved the post. No hoopla here at the spacious CT studios - just family and some hotdogs, hamburgers, chicken wings, and whatever salads arrive :) Have a Happy Fourth, as patriots celebrate the country as it was founded.
ReplyDelete______ On Independence ______
ReplyDeleteOfficially this day’s for celebration
Not complaints or tearful lamentation.
It’s tempting to succumb to fretfulness.
Negators can’t enjoy forgetfulness ––
Deny their overeager plaintiveness
Erupting fulsomely with put on saintliness ––
Pouting as though martyred for a Cause, when
Everyone knows they only crave applause. When
Needing to be Noticed takes the Stage,
Disingenuousness will soon take over.
Ego run amok expresses rage ––
Needling challengers’ interest and inventions,
Creating tensions, refusing to engage,
Endowing Honesty with bad intentions.
Doubts about oneself makes fields of clover
A potent allergen of which mere mention
Yields fits of pique that might define an Age!
~ FreeThinke
FT,
DeleteNot all negators want attention or crave applause.
Indeed, in many ways our Founders were negators, but their motivation was clearly not nefarious. The American Project has been a wonderful and true hope overall.
Many of the pundits -- Right and Left -- are, however.
I would NEVER classify any of the Founders as "negators." NEVER!
DeleteThey didn't just sit around wringing their hands and bellyaching. They were filled with vigorous, POSITIVE, brilliantly CONSTRUCTIVE, INSPIRING ideas and high IDEALS.
I doubt they ever worked to discourage, depress and enervate one another by constantly telling each other how dreadful, how fearful, how disgusting, how hopeless, useless and utterly futile everything appeared.
Not at all. Their examination and subsequent discussion of exciting new ideas gave them courage and stirred them to ACTION.
FT,
DeleteThe vigorous, POSITIVE, brilliantly CONSTRUCTIVE, INSPIRING ideas and high IDEALS certainly came along. But first there was indeed a lot of wringing their hands and bellyaching -- much of the time in taverns.
Of course, not all of the colonists were aboard even one the ideas and ideals came to the fore. Quite a few Loyalists all along the way even after warfare arrived.
PS: If the colonists had had the Internet, I doubt that the United States of America would ever have been formed.
Sure, but I referred ONLY to our Founders. If they'd consulted The Rabble or what Alexander Hamilton called "The Vulgar Populace," nothing worthwhile would EVER have been accomplished.
DeleteThe greatest mistake we made historically was to cater to the whims of populists and sorely misguided egalitarians. We are NOT –– and never were INTENDED to be –– a DEMOCRACY.
FT,
DeleteI understand what Hamilton meant by The Vulgar Populace.
Today, however, certain members of The Vulgar Populace are the ones who have a much better idea of our Founding principles. Indeed, most members of the non-vulgar populace are actively working to undermine our Founding principles: journalists, academia, clergy, etc.
Furthermore, Mother Country England considered all the colonists to be The Rabble.
You are absolutely correct with your statement: We are NOT –– and never were INTENDED to be –– a DEMOCRACY. Getting rid of the U.S. Senate as a body appointed by the states' legislative bodies was a huge, huge mistake, IMO.
Let Independence be our Boast
ReplyDeleteEver mindful what it cost
Ever grateful for the Prize
Let it's Altar reach the Skies.
Firm, united let us be
Rallying 'round our Liberty
As a Band of Brothers joined
Peace and Safety we shall find.
Joseph Hopkinson (1770-1842) - Excerpted from Hail, Columbia!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-gt3vaae4g
Hail, Columbia" is an American patriotic song. It was for many years considered the unofficial national anthem of the United States. The music, composed by Philip Phile in 1789 for the first inauguration of George Washington, was titled "The President's March," then arranged with lyrics by Joseph Hopkinson in 1798.
Hail, Columbia was used in the United States as a de facto national anthem for most of the 19th and early 20th centuries. It lost popularity during the Roaring Twenties, and at the advent of the Depression was replaced by "The Star-Spangled Banner" in 1931.
It is now the official Vice Presidential anthem. When played in honor of the Vice President, the song is always preceded by four ruffles and flourishes. In addition, the song has been used as a slow march during military ceremonies,
often while the band counter-marches.
FT,
DeleteThanks for adding that history lesson. It's a good one to remember.
Beautiful Post today...Thank You
ReplyDeleteThanks, Imp.
DeleteAnd thank you for stopping by and commenting.
Happy 4th AOW! I miss the fireworks in Washington, DC. Nothing like that around here.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of negativity...From Vox: On Second Thought, The American Revolution Was A Mistake:
ReplyDeleteDylan Matthews of Vox appears to be lamenting our independence since we would have abolished slavery sooner, the Native Americans would have experienced a slightly less horrific genocide, and we would have adopted the UK’s system of government, which is totally better than America’s (coding to liberals) because it allows the governing party to bulldoze over its opponents to push through their agenda (unless it’s a question about the EU)....
Read the rest HERE.