Claire V. Bogdanos

EXCUSE ME, they’re playing our song !  Do you remember the words ?  “God bless America land that I love”. A kind of poetry, words of songs that began with men like George M.  Cohan and women like Kate Smith.  Words we’ve  disregarded for years in lieu of MTA, Walkman, Beatles, Michael Jackson and even Lionel Ritchie.  The problem has been that we haven’t made room for both, like forgetting how great a cold beer is after acquiring a taste for Stoli on the rocks! “She’s the emblem of the land I love, the home of the free and the brave,”. It used to be, these songs filled many a hall with resounding applause and many a heart with astounding pride.  What “the world needs now ” is a healthy dose of plain old fashioned patriotism.  Let’s see a show of hands and maybe a show of flags.  Take time out to thank someone for doing their job well, a nurse, teacher, postman, waiter, bus driver, a child.  Maybe they’ll thank us in return by doing even better !  Today we stand at the crossroads and must choose between old habits or a rejuvenated search for national identity.  Look around, we grouse too much, blame someone else, ask others to do our job not realizing that we are each an integral part of the whole.  A broken toe causes a body to limp, throw away the crutches, stand up tall and stop playing cripple!  Excuse me while I salute the flag!              Sincerely,                                                    Claire B.