On this day 234 years ago our country was born after the final draft of the Declaration of Independence was adopted. Signatures did not all occur on July 4, 1776, but occurred through the summer as some, but not all, of the members of the Second Continental Congress made their way to Philadelphia to sign the document.
Enough with the history lesson. The purpose of this note is to talk about a quality that has become unfashionable and even politically incorrect.
I am speaking of the lump in the throat one gets when the National Anthem is played, or one of our Service Songs is performed in concert.
I had occasion yesterday of attending a Patriotic Pops concert of the Missouri Symphony. Most in attendance were of the geriatric crowd, gray-haired, stooped, some ladies made up gaudily, but proudly; the men less gaudily made up but nonetheless dressed in go-to-concert clothing that was devoid of denim and cute little sayings on T-shirts.
These patriotic concerts, as few as there are these days, feature a popular medley of military Service Songs that have a curious effect on most of the men in the audience.
When that Song is played, you see the old, tired bones creak up out of the seat and the back straighten. You see arms down at the side with thumbs alongside the outer seam of the trousers. You see pride, and you see lots of lumpy throats.
This is a quality that doesn't happen because of some weepy, warm 'n fuzzy thing that overtakes these gentlemen. No, this is a physical phenomenon that happens as a direct result of Service. Specifically, service to the Nation, but also to the community and service to one another.
The elderly crowd in that concert venue in Columbia, MO, understand the word "service." Most of them have lived it their entire lives, but most especially and poignantly, during wartime at a time when the capacities of the nation were strained to their limits. And even at times when the nation was not so strained, but constrained, they served despite the constrainments and the politics. Hostilities that ensued in the nation's "Forgotten War" and America's "Longest War" demanded no such sacrifice from its citizens except for those who picked up a weapon and served.
Patriotism is Service. There is a direct corrolation between the two.
Service straightens those backs of those who were there, sometimes old and tired and wizened. Service gets us out of ourselves and gives pause to reflect, remember, and appreciate the glory and good fortune it is to be an American.
For those who understand this message, I thank you for your unselfish service. You answered the call and for that, the nation should always be grateful on this day, and others.
God bless all of you who have served, and continue to serve, in the cause of liberty - not just for ourselves, but for our brothers wherever they may be.
