…which remains unanswered.

We know the song – we know it by heart, but no longer hear the words. Or maybe we’re just not listening to what we’re singing.

…or not singing.

And maybe that’s the problem.

But whenever the Anthem is unfurled, the question hangs in the air.

Differing opinions are healthy in a free society.

We argue politics in the pew, and religion in the street. Team rivalries divide family and friends, but before kick-off we stand (…or should) shoulder to shoulder united in voice (if not harmony).

Red and Blue
Blue and White
White and Black

United we stand, divided we kneel.

There is no room for competing allegiances or dueling anthems. We are one flag, one anthem, one nation… under God.

Multiculturalism is not just self-destructive, it’s a contradiction. A society is defined by its culture.

But just as the diversity rainbow includes every hue but white men (straight white men), cultural arsonists set out to torch the ideas and values that are uniquely American – a culture that drew immigrants to America.

They’d be happy if we all hid in a tunnel.

We make the mistake of believing that our freedoms, having been won, can never be lost. But whatever we fail to pass on to our children, we never had.

There was never any guarantee that our voyage into self-government would succeed. Or even survive.

By 1812, we were dead body deep in another war with a familiar foe. The Empire had burned our Capital and was on the march again. And the heroes of our revolution were long gone.

As Fort McHenry wilted under a naval bombardment, Francis Scott Key, himself, was being held captive. Aboard a British ship, he peered into the dawn of September 14^th for hope. And, yes… our flag was still there.

But that wasn’t the question.

O say does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O’er the land of the free
And the home of the brave?

Level Ground
There will no unity until the closed fist is replaced by an open hand. And no peace until the unrepentant pardon the unforgiven.

The Cry of the Rocks
Truth can be ignored but cannot be made untrue. Truth just is, even if held by just one. One plus God.