All the hubbub of standing for our National Anthem at any sporting event is taking the spotlight big time.  Who would’ve thought that our nation, built on the blood of brave men and women, would be called out for singing her praises.  We have the downing of monuments to war heroes, art being removed from public buildings because of their offensive nature of war.  If we merely erase these things from our history, it will never take away the memory of those who built our country.

When we become so enraged over something like this, it makes me wonder if we have gone off the deep end and became a nation of sheep – those blindly following the one in front of them to their death.  I’m not talking about our current president.  Our past leader did so much damage to our national honor, by his own disrespect and apology for our country.

The Star Spangled Banner was written on the morning of September 14, 1814.  Francis Scott Key had a day earlier boarded the British flagship which was planning an attack on Fort McHenry in the Baltimore harbor the next day.  Because the plan had been revealed to him, he posed a threat to the attack, so the British returned him to his own ship under guard.  He remained under arrest during the shelling of Fort McHenry.

Key was an amateur poet and as the battle ensued, he was moved to write the words to the Star Spangled Banner.  The words became a monument to the bravery of those under attack.  In it he speaks of freedom – which has been achieved in America today.  We often hang on to past hatred and fears, because we think they’ll resurface if we don’t constantly remind ourselves of them.  To eliminate them entirely, we’re hoping to cover up the pain of the past.

Our nation is so easily moved by controversy.  It seems to be a pattern which fuels our every waking moment.  We have more important things to concern ourselves with at the moment.  Our prayers are necessary now more than ever.  The evil that is penetrating the core of our existence will eat us up if we let it.

Our God is much stronger than the evil of Satan.  He has already been conquered by the death and resurrection of our Savior, but there is work to do.  The time is ripe for us to start sharing this good news for all humanity, before it’s too late.

THE STAR SPANGLED BANNER – VERSE 3 BY FRANCIS SCOTT KEY

And where is that band who so vauntingly swore
That the havoc of war and the battle’s confusion,
A home and a country should leave us no more!
Their blood has washed out their foul footsteps’ pollution.
No refuge could save the hireling and slave
From the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave:
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

We are the land of the free and the home of the brave, now more than ever before in our history.  It’s time to stand tall for our country.