“I shall have a great advantage over you Mr: (sic) Gerry when we are all hung for what we are now doing. From the size and weight of my body I shall die in a few minutes, but from the lightness of your body you will dance in the air an hour or two before you are dead.” ~ Benjamin Harrison to Elbridge Gerry, after they both signed the Declaration of Independence. Source: allthingsliberty.com
“As American as apple pie” ~ The iconic phrase from the 1690s to the 1960s. Source: Phrase Finder
“The first time I was on the national stage and I talked about hope, I reminded people hope is not blind optimism. And obviously we’re going through some uncertain times, but when you look at the sweep of American history, we’ve gone through rough patches. And we tend to come out on the other side of them stronger.” ~ Barack Obama, 44th President of the United States
“When I am feeling disillusioned with our country, I feel that I now have so much history I can lean on to lift me out of that hopelessness, while still recognizing that our country has never been perfect. Many of my peers did not have the interest or opportunity to study history at the college level, and so I feel that they have not had the chance to learn these valuable stories. I hope the 250th can change that.” ~ Cameron Katz, Gen Z Writer and Content Creator. Source: AASLH
As we celebrate America’s Semiquincentennial, I have struggled with how to express my feelings about the landmark. I was a young woman in 1976 when we marked our nation’s Bicentennial. It was definitely a more upbeat time than we are going through now. Fifty years ago, we had ended our involvement in the Vietnam conflict and the Supreme Court had declared Roe v. Wade the law of the land (1973), Watergate and the Nixon era were behind us (1974), we were hopeful for an economic recovery after Nixon’s stagnating mess and looking forward to the presidential election of 1976. Change — good change — was in the air.
Contrast that with today’s downbeat outlook under the decade-long shadow our nation has been under that has culminated in a destructive economy for average Americans; the reversal of hard-won fights for equality for women and people of color; ongoing wars and human rights offenses in the Middle East, the Caribbean and Pacific; insults to our veterans, abuses against immigrants , both undocumented and documented; shocking decisions by the current Supreme Court; book and course banning in schools — to name just some of the reasons many Americans are less enthusiastic about our nation’s landmark birthday as we were a half-century ago. That makes me sad for our nation’s youth, and we have to help them get our ship of state again headed in the right direction. There is hope; we are in a Midterm election year and we have the power as a self-governing citizenry to effect change for the better. We are all in this together and we will get out of it together; we have before and we will again.
So, after mulling it over, I wrote a repurposed version of and tribute to the masterpiece by the great Don McLean, American Pie. I felt that there was a parallel between what is going on in our country today and the mood that McLean expressed in American Pie in 1971.
My version — thanks and apologies to Don McLean — may simply be read or sung to the tune of the original:
RISE, RISE, THIS AMERICA RISE (AGAIN)
A long, long time ago
Our founders declared their freedom from tyranny and kings.
And we’ve been proud to be a part
Of what our country is at heart
A history-making run and work of art.
But Jan Six made us realize
That truth had been trumped by lies.
Bad news in the White House
Instead of in the jailhouse.
We knew we had to turn around
When we saw our country going down
Fire ignited in our souls and hearts
The day America cried.
So rise, rise, this America rise!
There is power in the people and there’s power in we
And there’s nothing we can’t do so all remain free
In the twenty-first century
In the twenty-first century.
Do you think we can prevail?
And can we reprise the freedom trail?
And can we rise again, you and me?
Back in seventeen seventy-six
They hoped we’d never need a fix
To repair our broken politics.
Well, I know that we won’t give up now
‘Cause I’ve heard the outcry as to how
We’re going to save our land
With everyone lending a hand!
Our nation’s been down this hard road before
And they’ve clearly heard our mighty roar
As they breached freedoms to the core
That’s when America cried.
So we’re singin’ rise, rise, this America rise!
There is power in the people and there’s power in we
And there’s nothing we can’t do so all remain free
In the twenty-first century
In the twenty-first century.
For two hundred fifty years on our own
Our nation’s made progress and it’s grown.
That’s far from what it used to be
When white men who owned land had all the rights
Slaves, women, natives and the poor had plights
And they were all far from being free.
But as a nation we have survived
And grown powerful and thrived.
Some bad was overcome
Still, rights were overrun.
And while they gave us the Bill of Rights
Most have been in a lot of fights
To earn our blood-soaked equality
So now America cries.
But we’re singing rise, rise, this America rise!
There is power in the people and there’s power in we
And there’s nothing we can’t do so all remain free
In the twenty-first century
In the twenty-first century.
Sprinter, squinter in a deadly winter
The Continental Army did splinter
Soldiers hurt and freezing fast!
Then they crossed the Delaware
And surprised the Hessians unaware.
The tide had turned and the enemy laid bare.
So back when the Army led by George
Survived that winter at Valley Forge
To drive the Red Coats out
Do we now do a turnabout?
‘Cause thanks to those brave ones way back then
We have a country to defend
And make sure that it’s on the mend
So we can stand with pride.
And keep singing rise, rise, this America rise!
There is power in the people and there’s power in we
And there’s nothing we can’t do so all remain free
In the twenty-first century
In the twenty-first century.
So, as time went on we hit our stride
On rights for all to turn the tide
It turned out to be quite a ride
So come on, said MLK and RP too
They forged ahead to form a coups
For civil rights acts overdue
Oh, and as we watched the suffragettes
Achieve their goals despite the threats
With no apology
Next came equality.
And as we welcomed the masses to our shore
Coming through the golden door
They’ve strengthened our nation at its core
And we must keep it so.
Let’s keep singin’ rise, rise, this America rise!
There is power in the people and there’s power in we
And there’s nothing we can’t do so all remain free
In the twenty-first century
In the twenty-first century.
Many now are singing the blues
They’re afraid of what we might lose
On this country’s milestone Birthday
Attacks on freedoms from inside
The chasm between rich and poor is wide
And our leadership keeps missing its cues.
And in the streets, the people scream
“What happened to the American dream?”
But we have been awoken
And we will not be broken.
Two hundred fifty years have passed
Many thought we’d never last
But here we are standing fast
In the twenty-first century.
For now, we’ll sing rise, rise, this America rise!
There is power in the people and the power in we
And there’s nothing we can’t do so all remain free
In the twenty-first century
In the twenty-first century.
Bells are ringing! So rise, rise, this America rise!
There is power in the people and there’s power in we
And there’s nothing we can’t do so all remain free
In the twenty-first century
In the twenty-first century!
THE END
Happy — and Hopeful — Semiquincentennial to us all, dear readers! And many, many more as we continue our march toward achieving “a more perfect union” long before the Tricentennial!
Until next time,
Jeanne
P.S. This post has been edited to reflect that my version is repurposed as a tribute to the original song by Don McLean, rather than as a parody.