As my family and I stood up during the halftime show in
Memorial Stadium for the Minnesota-Illinois football game, the P.A. voice boomed with announcements of how American war veterans would be honored in anticipation of the day that bears their name.
In case anyone had forgotten, the announcer reminded us that the stadium we occupied was "built in 1923 as a memorial to Illinois men and women who gave their lives for their country during World War I", which I have learned was a very perilous time in our nation's history ;)
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| Memorial Stadium at the University of Illinois |
Although the names of the
dead are inscribed (as a tribute) on the 200 columns supporting the enormous structure, I often wonder what America's present-day relationship is to its armed forces. Other writers, such as blogger Zach Peltz, have written recently about a shocking lack of support for the
living in his post, "
The Homeless Heroes". Consider what "Support Our Troops" means to you and
where that phrase might have originated.
But what really struck me yesterday was the use of a Bruce Springsteen's, "
Born in the USA". The stadium voice assured the thousands of us that this was a "patriotic song" honoring veterans during the halftime show. I don't think it's any accident that this song, with its seemingly incessant and repetitive chorus was, in the eyes of the marching band, tailor-made for a mass audience. But I would argue that it is also the most misunderstood song in American history since Woody Guthrie's "
This Land Is Your Land". Since 1984, the year Springsteen released it, he has constantly
re-worked his song, perhaps in an effort to emphasize the lyrics beyond the chorus.
Read the lyrics. If possible, listen to the two versions linked above (see the play buttons?). And then comment on what you believe Springsteen meant for us to think about today, on Veterans Day.
