this is my country

This is my country! Land of my birth!
This is my country! Grandest on earth!
I pledge thee my allegiance, America, the bold,
For this is my country to have and to hold.  (Song-“This Is My Country”- Don Raye)

My Dad, as a Pittsburgh Policeman, had access to to sparklers the kind of hand held fireworks your mother always worried would cause you to go blind. For many a Fourth of July celebration, all dozen families with kids living on Denniston Avenue would gather in front of our house at 1618A and as the sun set we would light up the street. There was a ceremony of sorts as the big kids (the older brothers and sisters) would say something Patriotic, the little kids recited a poem learned while attending Linden School, our parents and if any grandparents were around would talk about WWII and how free we are now. My Dad also had access to a huge American flag which during the day hung proudly from the tree in our front yard and prior to the lowering of the flag at dusk we would pledge allegiance.  My mother would turn up the volume on our combination TV/Stereo in the living room and as our sparklers went off you could hear the music to God Bless America, You’re A Grand Old Flag and The Star Bangled Banner being played.

I knew America to be great. I knew America was safe. I knew that America brought me a loving family, wonderful trusting friends, and summer nights that made me feel I could do and be anything I ever wanted.

"My fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you -- ask what can you do for your country. "It is now the moment ...to recall what our country has done for each of us, and to ask ourselves what we can do for our country in return." (Speech- ‘Ask Not What Your Country Can Do For You’-President John F. Kennedy)

We had elected a president who looked more like your cool uncle then someone’s grandfather. He spoke to young people, people just a little older then me at the time and I knew when he spoke he could see me through the television set. It was the Fourth of July during the early 60’s and you could see pursuits of happiness falling from the skies. I became aware of politics but more so the idea that what made this nation great was the people with real intentions, honest goals, and wisdom to make take the initials of the US to actually mean all of us.

I may have been naive but I believed that chances were given on merit not because of money, hope lingered due to perseverance not nepotism, and choice blossomed freely because YOU made it so. It was a time to look at America and want to give back because this country had provided you with so many options and opportunities. The next best thing was to lend a hand and help others pull themselves up by their boot straps.

I'm a Yankee Doodle Dandy

A Yankee Doodle, do or die

A real live nephew of my uncle Sam's

Born on the Fourth of July

I've got a Yankee Doodle sweetheart

She's my Yankee Doodle joy

Yankee Doodle came to London

Just to ride the ponies

I am a Yankee Doodle boy (Song-”I’m A Yankee Doodle Dandy”- George M. Cohan)

During my professional career in the communal service arena, I had the opportunity to work with Teens. My tenure as a Communal Worker began at the Pittsburgh JCC and one major portion of my job description was to produce, direct and choreograph the annual Teen Musical. 1976 was the year we did a show called ‘Dandy’ (we had a small budget so I re-wrote some of “Yankee Doodle Dandy” thus the name ‘Dandy’.) Here were 135 teens from grades 9 through 12 singing, dancing, acting and dealing with one of the most Patriotic musicals to hit this nation at the time. My kids in the show were intelligent, creative thinkers and many a discussion pursued about the content of each show in which they performed or participated.

We spoke about America, asking if all the red, white and blue was just a bunch of bunting used to disguise the real issues of black and white. If all the songs were sung to avoid the real discussion about fair and equal. If the dances were just a way to avoid walking to find consensus and causation. We talked abut being an American and what did being an American really mean and didn’t mean.

Fourth of July that summer found me chaperoning 40 kids in Israel and watching the fireworks of America in a foreign land. I had a few of my kids from the play with me while in Israel and we reflected on the glory of this nation and knew we should never take it for granted.

“...I say to you today, my friends, that in spite of the difficulties and frustrations of the moment, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream. I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal..." (Speech- ‘I Have a Dream’-Martin Luther King)

It was not until the late 90’s that I fully understood or read in full Dr. Martin Luther King’s ‘I Have a Dream Speech’. I was living in the Bay area  spending as much time in San Francisco as possible. I had come out as a Gay man but it was more of a secretive coming out rather than a wham bam here I am coming out. I was an ED at a JCC and still felt that no news was better news then spilling all the beans. I had to grapple with my true identity. I had to grapple with how being a Gay man fit in with the American dream. There is a park in San Francisco and inscribed on about a dozen tablets in the center of this park is the text of the speech ‘I Have a Dream’. I finally read the speech, stopping at each tablet, reading it silently then crying out loud. Dr. King somehow was talking about me and about the struggles I was facing. I understood, like a whack on the head what freedom meant and how freedom should be pursued.

That Fourth of July not only had I come out as Gay I came out as a proud Gay American Man.

I have celebrated the Fourth of July in a wide variety of ways. Reflecting back in time I also realized each year of the celebration has provided me with nuances, insight, sensitivities and thought. I am proud to be an American, but smart enough to know being an American should and could be a process of growth and  evolution.  And because I inherited this citizenship it is also something I should never take for granted.

This is my country! Land of my choice!
This is my country! Hear my proud voice!
I pledge thee my allegiance, America, the bold,
For this is my country! To have and to hold. (Song-“This Is My Country”- Don Raye)