A Bit of History for the Younger Folks on Veteran’s Day; The Introduction of “God Bless America”

IT MAKES SENSE TO ME

by Larry Peterson

Back in 1940, there were no televisions or laptops or iPads. The United States was on the brink of being brought into World War II.  The word “cyber” was not even invented. But there was the radio and that was how the nation received its evening entertainment. Newspapers were trusted and that was the primary news source.

Frank Sinatra was the heartthrob of the teenage girls of the day and many of the young folk listened to him. Well, when Frank heard Miss Kate Smith sing the song, “God Bless America” for the first time on the radio he declared that Kate Smith was, without a doubt, the best singer of her time. In fact, it is said that when the song was heard for the first time most of the men in America were wiping tears from their eyes.

America was still in the throes of The Great Depression, Hitler had conquered Poland and was seemingly about to conquer all of Europe. Most Americans were afraid our boys would soon be fighting in that war. The nation was worried and financially struggling. After supper, the family would gather around the radio set and tune in their favorite serial or variety show. At that time no one was a bigger star than Kate Smith.

Kate was a patriotic woman as were most Americans of that time. She had a desire to do something to bolster the mood of the country. She turned to her friend, one of the great American songwriters of all time, Irving Berlin, and asked him if he could write a song to help “cheer the country up”. Mr. Berlin (so the story goes) smiled at her, went to his files and pulled out a song he had written 22 years earlier, in 1917. He handed it to her and said, “I have waited all these years for the right moment to release this. This is that moment.”

Both Kate and Irving Berlin had no idea how the song would be received but decided that if any money was made it would be given to the Boy Scouts of America. Over the years millions of dollars in royalties have gone to the Boy Scouts.

Anyway, what follows is the actual presentation of Kate Smith introducing the great American song, “God Bless America”. This song still arouses patriotic feelings and pride about our country when we hear it. “Here is the link to the video of Kate Smith introducing for the very first time “God Bless America”  (click on the highlighted words)

“God Bless America”

                                        copyright©Larry Peterson 2017

Bashing God in America: How "FAR" You Have NOT Come

by Larry Peterson

I am over it.  I am fed up with these whiny cry-baby atheists who for some bizarre reason have decided that God and Christianity are "offensive".  I also think the agencies, administrators, judges etc., who uphold their ridiculous argument that even so much as mentioning the name of GOD violates our Constitution are also pathetic.  Those folks are using their positions of responsibility to undermine the very foundation that this great nation was built upon.  That bedrock, like it or not,  is known as the Judeo-Christian principle.  Anything else promoted as the bedrock is an impostor and is simply secular hogwash.  Here is a quote from our second president, John Adams; "Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other."  Imagine President Adams saying that today. Imagine any president or politician saying that.                        

The Pilgrims and Puritans and Quakers and Catholics and Mennonites and so many others came here for religious freedom. The existence of God was never in question. His existence was an absolute. The question was, how do we acquire the freedom to worship God in our own way?  It took the colonialists about 180 years, from the forming of the Jamestown Settlement in Virginia in 1607 until, as newborn  Americans, they ratified the Constitution on September 17, 1787. It was not until 1791 that the first ten amendments to the Constitution were ratified. They became known as the Bill of Rights and the very first one states that "Congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press, or the right of the people to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."

 Easter season is once again upon us. It is the Christian celebration of new life and redemption. Yet there are so many in positions of authority that step on the Constitution trying to obliterate the words in it.  We Christians believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.  We believe that "Christ has died, Christ has risen, and that Christ will come again."  Isn't that our right as Americans?  Jesus seems to be hated by many, including the vitriolic atheists who want His very existence "stricken from the record" by trying to claim it is illegal. Yes siree, I, for one,  am over it and tired of it.  Jesus Christ preached LOVE and KINDNESS and FORGIVENESS. Is that a problem?  Why would that "offend" anyone?  Plus, He was beaten, tortured and killed because He promoted those virtues. Does that make any sense?  Yes it does because, as history has proven over and over, often times pride and greed and ego squash love and kindness and forgiveness into smithereens. It is very sad that so many people can be filled with so much hate. So much so that they willingly kill and destroy and do everything they can to eradicate all that is GOOD. And they do it claiming it is virtuous. What a joke. How "FAR" You have NOT come.

If you do not want to believe in God I do not care. Knock yourself out. Sit under a tree and feed a squirrel. That is the beauty of America. It is okay to do that. But this business about mocking Christianity and trying to have it taken from the public square is utter nonsense. More than anything else though, it is spitting into the faces of all those two billion plus people around the world who follow Christ and His teachings. It is mocking the millions of Jewish people exterminated in the Holocaust. It demonizes a 75 year old priest, Father Frans Van der Lugt,  who was beaten and murdered in Syria last week for being kind and loving to the poor and needy for more than fifty years. It defiles the memory of the 80 Christians who were executed in North Korea last November because they each owned a Bible.

You people who want God out of the American equation are fools. The reason you  have this right to complain is because our country is built on the Judeo-Christian principle. If you lived in North Korea or Iran, or China or Afghanistan, or Pakistan or Somalia and tried this you would be tortured and killed and never heard from again. But you live in the United States of America that allows you to spit into the faces of so many without retribution. You are blessed more than you can know.

To all  you God haters and deniers, I'm am tired of your rants. You know, back in 1938 Kate Smith introduced the Irving Berlin song, "God Bless America".  I would venture to say that almost every American, young and old alike, knows this song.  Every time we sing it, no matter what the venue, we, as Americans are asking GOD to bless us. It is our national prayer as Americans. It is a beautiful thing. If you choose to be "offended" by that simple prayer because it uses the name of GOD, can't you just keep it to yourself and keep your mouth shut?  You are the ones being offensive.  How "FAR" You  have NOT come."