 Irving Berlin, composer of a beloved American patriotic hymn. In the same week our nation honored fallen military personnel who sacrificed their lives to protect liberties such as freedom of religion, speech and the remaining Bill of Rights, a court decision in New York sparked cries that “this is a bad day for America.”
We agree, these are bad days for America, but not because of that verdict. Responses to the verdict across the nation further illustrated divisions in the U.S. that seem to grow wider daily, regardless of topic. Politics is least among them. As we rehearse the songs and Scripture content of our newest show, “Freedom Suite: Juneteenth, July Fourth, The Gospel,” we’re affected by the parallels between “bad days” in American history and those of the Israelites and Judeans recorded in the Old Testament books Kings and Chronicles. Amid headlines of court cases, violence, tornadic weather, wars and rumors of wars, we often hear, read or cry out, “God, Bless America.” Before this was a jingoist slogan, the phrase was a beloved song, written by Irving Berlin, an immigrant, a Jewish composer born in Russia, whose surname translates to the name of Germany’s capital. This parallel is among the ironies we highlight in “Freedom Suite.”
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