Jerusalem

Steve Earle is a remarkable songwriter. Apart from his writing he can be a complete horse's ass (and he can be a semi-horse's ass in his writing---see "Condi, Condi"), but the man can write a song that'll bring a tear to your eye. If his song "Jerusalem" doesn't do that for you, then (or so it seems to me) you should think a bit harder about your faith in the context of the people who live in the Middle East.

Earle's song "Jerusalem" is on the album of the same name and also on a new live CD to be released this week.

Jerusalem (Steve Earle)

"I woke up this mornin' and none of the news was good
And death machines were rumblin' 'cross the ground where Jesus stood
And the man on my TV told me that it had always been that way
And there was nothin' anyone could do or say

"And I almost listened to him
Yeah, I almost lost my mind
Then I regained my senses again
And looked into my heart to find
That I believe that one fine day all the children of Abraham
Will lay down their swords forever in Jerusalem

"Well maybe I'm only dreamin' and maybe I'm just a fool
But I don't remember learnin' how to hate in Sunday school
But somewhere along the way I strayed and I never looked back again
But I still find some comfort now and then

"Then the storm comes rumblin' in
And I can't lay me down
And the drums are drummin' again
And I can't stand the sound
But I believe there'll come a day when the lion and the lamb
Will lie down in peace together in Jerusalem

"And there'll be no barricades then
There'll be no wire or walls
And we can wash all this blood from our hands
And all this hatred from our souls
And I believe that on that day all the children of Abraham
Will lay down their swords forever in Jerusalem "

Amen.

A Folkie Star Spangled Banner

As I tuned in the Cubs/White Sox baseball game on Sunday, I was pleasantly surprised to find that singer/songwriter Michael McDermott was performing the national anthem. He managed to somehow both perform the song traditionally and yet to make it his own without upstaging the dear ol' gal. So on this 4th of July it seems only appropriate that I share this wonderful performance with the one or two of you who might eventually read this post. If you are interested (and you should be!), you can see it here:

http://www.cshs86.com/forum/downloads/McDermott_7-2-06.mov

Happy Birthday, USA.

Happy Independence Day

Those of us whose politics tend toward the left on the American political spectrum are often accused of not being sufficiently patriotic. And, truthfully, I can understand this accusation. A not implausible first stab at a definition of patriotism sees it as equivalent to supporting the policies of our country in international relations simply because they are our policies. If that's correct, then us in the middle/left tend to be less patriotic than those on the right. Yet while "My country right or wrong" is often confused with patriotism but a little reflection is enough to see that such a definition is mistaken. What a true patriot wants is a country he or she could die for and be noble in so doing. No one (or at least no decent person) wants to die for Hitler's National Socialism. To die in service to an evil institution is to waste one's life.

Patriotism, then, should be thought of as a well-founded commitment to the institutions of one's native or adopted land.

By these standards, American liberals ought to be exemplars of patriotism. For our country was formed on the principles of freedom and equality. And while we've often done a damned poor job of living up to our own standards (or of even interpreting them aright), ours is still a country founded on a democratic and even egalitarian ideal, rather than ethnic/tribal pride and purity. This is something we ought rightly to celebrate and even take pride in. So tomorrow, on July 4th, I'll be celebrating the principles that our country was founded upon: freedom of the individual to worship as he or she sees fit, the equality of all persons, the belief that the government should generally let people live as they see fit, and the conviction that our God has given us rights and responsibilities of self governance.

Happy Fourth of July, y'all.