Reference Text
|
|
'O beautiful for heroes proved'
|
Monday, July, 05, 2010
|
by John Fischer
For a real Independence holiday treat, go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ghz4_kikLkE&feature=related and enjoy an excellent performance of "America, the Beautiful" by the late, always gracious Ray Charles. I actually found a number of different recordings of Ray singing this song and all of them are the same basic arrangement. He starts with a more unfamiliar, obscure verse from the song written by Katherine Lee Bates and then sings the first verse last—the one many of us learned in school: "O beautiful for spacious skies…"
This was obviously intentional. He wanted to focus on a verse that most people wouldn't even know existed if it weren't for him. And it is a verse most appropriate for Independence Day.
O beautiful for heroes proved
In liberating strife.
Who more than self their country loved
And mercy more than life!
America! America!
May God thy gold refine
Till all success be nobleness
And every gain divine!
It was the artist's prerogative, that of the six verses he could have showcased by way of his celebrity, Ray Charles chose this one. No wonder. It captures the most noble of aspirations. It goes way beyond what we do, to the more telling, why we do it—something so deep we are all incapable of judging, even in ourselves, and yet something we should continually strive for and call each other to.
The heroes of this verse were selfless in their struggle for freedom, and there is a reason for that freedom—not for autonomy—but that this freedom might be used to extend mercy, create noble character and secure spiritual gain.
I would say we have all but lost sight of this kind of freedom, but all is not lost. As countries go, we're still young enough to be an experiment, and idealistic enough to use our freedoms for the right reasons. Like my wife always says, "Do the right things for the right reasons."
Patriotic days like today call for our noblest aspirations, but—and let's put this in proper perspective—nothing like the aspirations with which we will return to work tomorrow. That is the true test.
|
|
