Annie, very best wishes for a meaningful and personally fulfilling National Birthday. You mentioned a love of both history and music and I emphatically share those enthusiasms with you. As regards music on the July 4th occasion, few things are more pleasantly engaging for me than the stirring march compositions of John Philip Sousa, who is about a perfect example of America's former spirit of embracing diversity as I can think of. I say 'former' since the present 'woke' spin on diversity seems utterly devoid of the qualities that previously helped make America one of the greatest nations in the world. Sousa, a descendant of Portuguese and Bavarian German parents, remains almost unchallenged as a martial interpreter of traditional American patriotic music and it saddens me greatly that today's celebrations of July 4th in our nation's Capitol seem to overlook and exclude his masterful turn-of-the-century contributions to America's spirit! My Irish father was a veteran of the Spanish War (1898) and I inherited many things from him...among them a great respect for John Philip Sousa. Today, no July 4th is complete for me without a stirring rendering of 'The Stars and Stripes Forever' and it is tragic that even the so-called 'National 4th of July Celebration' (that receives so much media publicity) seems to leave out his epic contributions to America's martial music. God (or whomever it is, out there in the cosmos) bless America!
Annie, very best wishes for a meaningful and personally fulfilling National Birthday. You mentioned a love of both history and music and I emphatically share those enthusiasms with you. As regards music on the July 4th occasion, few things are more pleasantly engaging for me than the stirring march compositions of John Philip Sousa, who is about a perfect example of America's former spirit of embracing diversity as I can think of. I say 'former' since the present 'woke' spin on diversity seems utterly devoid of the qualities that previously helped make America one of the greatest nations in the world. Sousa, a descendant of Portuguese and Bavarian German parents, remains almost unchallenged as a martial interpreter of traditional American patriotic music and it saddens me greatly that today's celebrations of July 4th in our nation's Capitol seem to overlook and exclude his masterful turn-of-the-century contributions to America's spirit! My Irish father was a veteran of the Spanish War (1898) and I inherited many things from him...among them a great respect for John Philip Sousa. Today, no July 4th is complete for me without a stirring rendering of 'The Stars and Stripes Forever' and it is tragic that even the so-called 'National 4th of July Celebration' (that receives so much media publicity) seems to leave out his epic contributions to America's martial music. God (or whomever it is, out there in the cosmos) bless America!
Happy Fourth of July to you, Annie, and thanks for the lovely article.
Happy Fourth of July ! Thanks for sharing that beautiful rendition of the Star Spangled Banner !