'GOD BLESS AMERICA'

"God Bless America" stickers bleach on the bumpers of some cars and pick-up in my town. Usually with a dramatic drawing of an eagle or the Statue of Liberty. On others, a plain blue and white bumper sticker reads, "God bless the whole world. No exceptions."

"God Bless America." Very well. It may be knee-jerk patriotism, but I have no problem with it as theology. God bless us doesn't mean God, don't bless anything else. I don't believe in that god, but I don't object to being blessed by Christians, or to them appealing for blessings from someone I don't think is there. I know some people see that slogan, and the song that embodies it, as creeping Christianism. Which is amusing, since it was written by an Ashkenazi Jew, albeit a Republican.

Too old for military service when his country entered World War II in 1941, he devoted his time and energy to writing new patriotic songs, such as "Any Bonds Today?", donating the proceeds from This Is the Army to the army itself, and entertaining the troops with a road company of that show, in which he was a member of the cast. After performances in the United States, the show played in London in 1943, at a time when the city was still under air attack from Germany. After a tour of the British Isles, the show went on to North Africa and then Italy, playing in Rome only weeks after that city was liberated. Next came the Middle East and the Pacific, where performances often took place in close proximity to battle zones. In recognition of this important and courageous contribution to troop morale, at war's end Berlin was awarded the Medal of Merit by President Truman.
And sung most famously by a hefty never-married songbird ("I'm big, and I sing, and boy, when I sing, I sing all over!") named Kate Smith. To me, a native Philadelphian, and many others, the song forever will be associated with the Flyers' Stanley Cup years -- a pack of flamboyant, hard-cussing, hyperviolent Canadians. Besides, it inspired "This Land is Your Land."

So I have to dig through a lot of smiles to be spooked by the Christianism in it.

But what about the other? "God bless the whole world. No exceptions." Really? God bless Osama Bin Laden? God bless pedophiles? God bless Halliburton? Interesting. But they don't mean that, really, do they? I don't think many of the people who put those stickers on their car believe in that god any more than I do. It's just a reaction. To the other sticker. It doesn't mean anything, and it's not meant to support or promote anything. Just irritate the other side.

Which is why I don't take them seriously. Because it seems they don't take themselves seriously.

INDEX - AUTHOR


Online Work

The SCIOLIST

ONLINE ETYMOLOGY DICTIONARY

SLAVERY in the NORTH

CIVIL WAR and AFTER

Some Sites

Nat Hentoff
Today's Front Pages
Watching America
N.Y. Observer
Democratiya
The Economist
Hoover Institution
New Perspectives
Parameters
WikiSky
Deceits of "Fahrenheit 9/11"
"The Media and the Military"
"Power and Weakness"
The Museum of Hoaxes
Zombie Hall of Shame
Spirit of America
Black Heritage Riders
Jill Sobule
Digital Medievalist
Northvegr
ShanMonster
Strange Fortune Cookie Fortunes
"Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds"
Urban Legends Reference Page
Anguish Languish
Engrish.com
Devil's Dictionary
Kissthisguy.com
"Gadsby"
Movie Mistakes
"Flatland"

Language

Unlikely phrases from real phrasebooks
Lost in Translation
English Online
Alphabet Evolution
Chinese Etymology
"The King's English"
A list of Proto-Indo-European Roots
Introduction to Proto-Indo-European
Lexilogos
"Svenska Akademiens Ordbok"
Johnson's Dictionary
"as Deutsche Wörterbuch von Jacob und Wilhelm Grimm"
Etymology of First Names
History of English Language
Word Spy
French Etymology
Old English Library
Sumerian Language Page

Joe Blogs

Ali Eteraz
Ambivablog
American Future
another lucky b*stard living in tuscany
Benzene 4
The Beiderbecke Affair
Candide's Notebook
Dennis the Peasant
Eve-Tushnet
The Glittering Eye
Irish Elk
Lily Blooming
Mark Daniels
Michael J. Totten
Michael Yon
Neurotic Iraqi Wife
Op-For
Pharyngula
Postmodern Conservative
Rhetorica
The Sandbox
Simply Skimming
Three Rounds Brisk
Tigerhawk
Too Sense
The Volokh Conspiracy
Winds of Change
ZenPundit


© 2006 Douglas Harper Moe: "Say, what's a good word for scrutiny?" Shemp: "uh ... SCRUTINY!"