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The American Experiment – Still Singing!
The “American Experiment” was unique and unlikely in 1776, when Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence and the bold little American colonies raised their voices against the planet’s most powerful empire at the time. It was and still is a daunting task for democracy to hold its own against the howling winds of change and nature and bravely keep trying to sing the notes of the miraculous melody that is America.
A marvelous theme is worth developing, now more than ever. In these times when the cacophony of too much news and too many opinions can overwhelm sensitive ears; when sour notes of prejudice and persistent dissonance of human discord can bring us to despair of ever finding harmony, let us be still and listen for the echo of a distant fife and drum.
We are not likely to sing well if we keep shouting over one another. Let’s remember what we gathered here to do: to hear meaning and to raise a song of praise together. This rhapsody that we are composing is indeed an intricate work in progress. It is a folksong with soft notes of comfort and also a bold and rousing anthem. Every passage defines the message of America. This work contains a full range of difficult notes, hard to hit and hard to hold. Yet, all the voices must be heard. This unfinished symphony takes practice. We’ll have to get better at it. That never happens in music or in life without trying.
The story goes that back in 1787 when founding fathers (and mothers, too), were piecing together the marvel of the Constitution in Independence Hall in Philadelphia, a woman inquired of Benjamin Franklin what was being produced by all their work. It is told that he replied, "A republic, madam, if you can keep it." To keep it, we will have to work at it. Music is like democracy: it doesn’t just happen. It takes time, discipline, and great love.
Our founders were pledged to the idea that “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” Such a government had never before been produced on the face on the earth. It is up to us to keep refining that score to include all the people of America, for those beautiful words were and still are a song worth singing! In the great chorus of America, we may indeed hear some false notes now and again, as we keep on seeking to voice the great ideals of freedom and democracy. But the song goes on if we keep singing!
– Leddy Hammock 2020 |
