This Land Is Your Land

Change the National Anthem?

I saw a posting about keeping the Star Spangled Banner as the National Anthem the other day. I wondered what the motivation was for the posting. Debate about the National Anthem seems like such an irrelevant issue to me. There is opposition to the militaristic nature of the lyrics. There has always been opposition to the Star Spangled Banner. Your can read about it in the Washington Post.

It was written during the war of 1812. It didn't become the official anthem until 1931. Although it became a favorite of the military during the civil war. At that time Hail Columbia and Yankee Doodle were also unofficial national anthems. America the Beautiful and America are often mentioned as replacements today.

To me it seems a distraction. A side issue. This will all work itself out...or not.

What About Woody?

My thoughts landed on "This Land is Your Land by Woody Guthrie." I remembered the song from grade school. We sang the first and second verses....sometime the third. I also remember this as being part of the songbook for the Folk craze of the late 50's and early 60's. This Land is Your Land launched thousands of budding folk singers with inexpensive nylon string guitars. I had one. It cost about $25 with the case.

This Land Is Your Land

Words and Music by Woody Guthrie

This land is your land This land is my land

From California to the New York island; 

From the red wood forest to the Gulf Stream waters 

This land was made for you and Me.

As I was walking that ribbon of highway, 

I saw above me that endless skyway: 

I saw below me that golden valley: 

This land was made for you and me.

I've roamed and rambled and I followed my footsteps 

To the sparkling sands of her diamond deserts; 

And all around me a voice was sounding: 

This land was made for you and me.

Going Deeper - Not Going to Happen

First, Guthrie was a communist. There's a lot of baggage associated with communists in this country. It's a label meant to imply that he or she is not part of us. Once that kind of label is applied, it is easy to discriminate against the person and dismiss any ideas as invalid. No matter how valid the issues, if they are presented by a "the other", they are demonized and dismissed. Based on that alone, his song would never fly here. Digging deeper, there's a references to Great Depression and the ecological disaster that went along with it, the Dust Bowl. Thousands of farmers lost everything. This started a migration. Many choose California and the land of opportunity. They were met at the border and not allowed in. There's a verse about that discriminatory practice.

"As I went walking I saw a sign there, And on the sign it said "No Trespassing." But on the other side it didn't say nothing, That side was made for you and me."

There's also reference to the millions who were seeking work, but could not find any. We were promised two chickens in every pot and a car in every garage, It was the American Dream. The dream was dashed by greed.  

"In the shadow of the steeple I saw my people, By the relief office I seen my people; As they stood there hungry, I stood there asking Is this land made for you and me?"

In the final verse, Guthrie promises to keep speaking out about the injustice of a system that has allowed so many to fall through the cracks.

"Nobody living can ever stop me, As I go walking that freedom highway; Nobody living can ever make me turn back This land was made for you and me."

Obviously, it's a protest song. It was controversial then. It is still controversial today. We didn't know that in grade school.  Yet, the ironies 75 years later are striking. There's a severe drought in Southern California and large portions of the West, and there are millions of working Americans cannot make ends meet because they are working poor paying jobs. Of course, The Great Recession was brought on by greed,

Today, I find myself admiring the message of inclusiveness in the face of exclusion.

Stop Hunger Now

Doing Something About Hunger

South United Methodist Church and Stop Hunger Now teamed up for a meal packaging event this weekend. .

The need is great. There are still many people going hungry. 805 million people continue to struggle with hunger every day. 1.2 billion people still live in extreme poverty — on less than $1.25 per day. Each year, 2.6 million children die as a result of hunger-related causes.

Think nothing can be done about it?

There's a lot more latitude than you think. The global retail ice cream industry revenue is estimated to reach $74 billion by 2018. Favorable demographic factors, rising consumer disposable income, and consumer's awareness toward frozen dessert mainly drive the demand. The disposable income is there.

Still not getting the connection? 

We do not need to do this alone. Today we volunteered time to Stop Hunger Now. In about 90 minutes we put together 10,000 meals to be shipped to hungry people in places like Hatii and the Dominican Republic. The cost was a few thousand dollars.

When Christ said, "The poor you will always have with you, but you will not always have me." He meant it is up to us to do something about it. A little less ice cream and a little more generosity can make a huge difference. Stop Hunger now serves people in 65 countries and to date has assembled almost 193 million meals.