HAS PATRIOTISM SIGNED OFF?

by Robyn Conley

"Hey, Mom, check this out."

My thirteen-year-old son handed me a piece of sheet music from his latest band class. His grin told me I should respond in a positive way to this rare invitation into his Junior High realm.

"Cool," I said, taking a few seconds to glance through the piece titled, "Channel Surfing." It was a medley of popular television shows theme songs, including: "Batman," "The Simpsons," even "The Twilight Zone."

He pointed at the last few measures. "But what's up with this?" Beneath his grubby finger was "The Star Spangled Banner."

Realization that the clever composer had chosen the traditional station sign off as an ending, humored and warmed me like a hug from a favorite uncle.

I explained this to my son. His crumpled up face and the inevitable "Huh?" uttered by all puzzled teens didn't surprise me, but this time I didn't give him my usual grin.

Instead I barked back in typical impatient parent fashion, "Well it wasnt too many years ago that people actually celebrated being Americans every day."

He slinked backward a step. Poor kid. It wasn't his fault he'd grown up with a bazillion television channels broadcasting 24 hours a day. I tried to apologize for my harsh tone before he hunkered away to hide in his room.

"Look, I'm sorry," I growled. He slowed down. Maybe I'd go a step further. "It's just that even with all the important academic stuff you're learning, being proud of being an American is one of those things I'd rather you remember way more than Algebra or English." His eyes magnified to half dollars. Finally I had his attention.

"More important than English?" As the son of a writer, he knows my respect for our language.

But patriotism for the core values of our American citizenship should require even more respect. I told him we used to be a nation concerned about our neighbors. We used to celebrate our pride and our freedom every day as families who prayed together. As the nation grew and when the miracle of television arrived, we'd celebrate every night, collectively when that television signed off. Now the miracle has robbed us of family togetherness and national pride. Now we see so much of what's wrong and wicked in our wide screen world that we indulge in it. We binge on television, fattening our minds and poisoning our souls.

He snatched the music from my hand and bolted for the hallway toward his room. I would have fussed at him for such rude behavior, but he had that look on his face--the one that told me thoughts were churning in his noggin. Big time. A few minutes later clarinet music filled the house. Soon came the familiar TV tunes, then the familiar ending phrase "o're the land of the free and the home of the brave."

My gaze drifted to the flag I keep in the corner of the hallway. It's not prestigious. It's not an heirloom from a family veteran. It's just an inexpensive item bought at a discount store. But I wanted that flag when we moved into this house. I wanted our children to see it every day and know America--with its foundation in God and its hard fought freedoms--had a spot in our family. I wondered if my intentions had failed.

The music started again with the "Flinstones" theme and I smiled. Millions of years ago the Stone Age people weren't connected to the Net, tuned in to CNN, or worried one pebble about "Who Wants to be a Millionaire?" So many periods of history have passed since then. So many kingdoms, governments, and lands with constantly shifting borders and constantly shifting laws have passed through noble and not so noble generations.

How long can we expect America to last? How can we respect America again? How can you or I instill patriotism in our children when it isn't popular and approved on the big screens devouring our living rooms?

The music stopped and my son emerged from the hallway carrying one of the many trivia books he collects. "Did you know Francis Scott Key wrote the national anthem--while he was a prisoner on a boat?"

I nodded. "What else does it say?"

He read a few paragraphs then shook his head. "That's awesome."

"That's right. Don't ever forget the bombs bursting in air and what our country's men and women gave their blood for you to enjoy freedoms today."

He gave me the raised eyebrow, the slight hesitation before choosing to absorb with sincerity or choosing to roll his eyes and dismiss the latest lecture. It was a toss up, but at last he awarded me with the slight smirk, the little affirmation that said he understood the significance of those last few measures in his music--and more importantly, the significance of not ever signing off his appreciation for what the song represents. Here's hoping you and your children will choose to remember and respect the flag, the national anthem, and the history of our country. We're in charge of how long America will withstand its virtue in the history books, or if we'll be a part of its signing off.

EMAIL ROBYN

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