#ps 90

FN Five Seven done in a custom FN Blue with white pinstriping and color fill! 

By now, I'm sure many of you heard about Greta Hawkins, a principal at PS90 in Brooklyn, NY who banned students from singing Lee Greenwood's "God Bless the USA" during a kindergarten graduation ceremony.

When I first read about this, my initial reaction was shock, with just a pinch of anger. The official line from school officials is that the lyrics are "too grown-up" for these youngsters. Unofficially, the report states, Hawkins was afraid that the song might offend people from other cultures.

I've hated this song for a long time. Written in 1984, it gets recycled every time there's some event or incident for which the country needs to band together, like the Gulf War or the events of 9/11. And it certainly has that redneckish, "love it or leave it" vibe. But I never really listened to the words, so I decided to actually check out the lyrics:

God Bless The USA

by Lee Greenwood

If tomorrow all the things were gone, I'd worked for all my life. And I had to start again, with just my children and my wife.

I'd thank my lucky stars, to be livin here today. ‘Cause the flag still stands for freedom, and they can't take that away.

And I'm proud to be an American, where at least I know I'm free. And I wont forget the men who died, who gave that right to me.

And I gladly stand up, next to you and defend her still today. ‘Cause there ain't no doubt I love this land, God bless the USA.

From the lakes of Minnesota, to the hills of Tennessee. Across the plains of Texas, From sea to shining sea.

From Detroit down to Houston, and New York to L.A. Well there's pride in every American heart, and its time we stand and say.

That I'm proud to be an American, where at least I know I'm free. And I wont forget the men who died, who gave that right to me.

And I gladly stand up, next to you and defend her still today. ‘Cause there ain't no doubt I love this land, God bless the USA.

And I'm proud to be and American, where at least I know I'm free. And I wont forget the men who died, who gave that right to me.

And I gladly stand up, next to you and defend her still today. ‘Cause there ain't no doubt I love this land, God bless the USA.

After reading it, I agree with Hawkins; it is offensive. But not because of its overt national pride, or some covert, hidden message promoting the "We're No. 1" sentiment that was prevalent at the time. Think Rocky IV or the 1980 Olympic Hockey Team.

It's just a really bad song, isn't it? Trite, familiar lyrics that you could swear you heard somewhere else.  "Sea to shining sea" ring a bell? The calling out of cities is very Guthrie, except it's not.

I know what you're saying. Write a better song, you big dope! My answer is, I don't have to. There are songs that are perfectly better, more patriotic, and more indicative of this nation's ideals, like the "Star-Spangled Banner," "This Land Is Your Land," "America the Beautiful," or "God Bless America." Heck, I'd even take "Yankee Doodle Dandy." But don't invent a hypersensitivity that really may not exist. Frankly, there's nothing wrong with a song that says God Bless the USA, as long as there's no harmful subtext there. And if there if is, I can't find it.