A story set in the early 1800s tells of Philip Nolan, a young officer in the United States Army who gets caught up in a plot to overthrow the government. Convicted of treason, he swears in rash anger that he wishes never again to hear the words the United States of America. The judge decides to grant his wish, and he is sentenced to a life of exile. Those around him are ordered never to speak to him of America. He comes to be known as “The Man without a Country.”
Years later, a remorseful Nolan pleads with a young sailor:
“Remember . . . your Country, and that you belong to Her as you belong to your own mother. Stand by Her, boy, as you would stand by your mother.”
Then he adds, “O, if anybody had said so to me when I was of your age!”1
Each of us has a land we call our own. It may be the place where our family has lived for generations. It may be the country of our birth that we left long ago. Or it may be an adopted nation we now consider our home. By virtue of our heritage or our loyalty, we all feel connected to a country.
Love of country inspires men and women to give their very best, even their lives if necessary, to uphold its freedoms. In faraway places or just down the street, we stand tall for the worthy values and principles espoused by our nation. When fellow countrymen are in trouble, we reach out to assist them, defend their rights, and rebuild their lives. The bond of common citizenship unites us and strengthens us in spite of differences of race, religion, or politics. The commitment we swear to our country is, at its heart, a promise to help one another.
We all have a country. It may not be the largest, the richest, or the most powerful, but it deserves our loyalty and our love and our best efforts to make it better. We can say with hope and faith, “God bless this land.”
1 Edward Everett Hale, The Man without a Country (1897), 40–41.
Program #4320
Musical Selection:
1. This Land is Your Land
Woody Guthrie; arr. Percy Faith and Michael Davis; Arrangement Unpublished
2. Bound for the Promised Land
Woody Guthrie; arr. Percy Faith and Michael Davis; Arrangement Unpublished
3. The House I Live In
Earl Robinson; arr. Michael Davis; Chappell Co.; Arrangement Unpublished
4. The Stars and Stripes Forever (Bells)
John Philip Sousa; arr. William H. Griffin; Beckenhorst Press
5. Prelude on “My Country, ’Tis of Thee” (Organ solo)
From Thesaurus Musicus, London, 1744; arr. Clay Christiansen; Arrangement Unpublished
6. Spoken Word
7. God Bless America
Irving Berlin; arr. Roy Ringwald; Irving Berlin
8. Cohan’s Big Three (Yankee Doodle Dandy, Give My Regards to Broadway, You’re a Grand Old Flag)
George M. Cohan; arr. Floyd E. Werle; Public Domain; Arrangement Unpublished
Music & the Spoken Word
A program of inspirational music and spoken word.