As early as I can remember, I didn’t like standing up for our national anthem. It described American heroism, war, and freedom as seen from an offshore vessel. I don’t think of many things Americans were doing in that war represented heroism or freedom. We also only know the abridged version. The remaining verses are actually quite graphic and might have made the parent of a third grade child cringe. I’m not sure why I never liked the Star Spangled Banner, or pledging my allegiance. I don’t have that sort of blind fidelity. It felt more natural to resist.
I feel like I’m resisting again, or at least freeing myself from something that has grabbed hold of lots of people. Today I deleted my online social network accounts with FaceBook and MySpace. Both completely unnecessary, but huge time consumers. I look forward to being outside more, and typing some things that are more valuable here.
Andrew
