Song of the Week (Second Week of Sept.)
"Born in the U.S.A."
by Bruce Springsteen
This week we remember the events of September 11, 2001. Most of us can remember where we were and what we were doing when we got word that planes had been hijacked and flown into the World Trade Center that crisp fall morning. What was to happen in the wake of that tragedy would pull us together as a country and then splinter us once again. This classic 80’s hit from Bruce Springsteen reminds us of another time split by political haggling and military uncertainty. This song has been famously misinterpreted by casual listeners and co-opted by arrogant and ignorant politicians. This is not a flag-waving salute to the United States. It is an anthem for the forgotten and the mistreated veterans that returned from Vietnam to find that the American public had no use for them. The war had gone so badly that Americans wanted to forget about it and that meant forgetting about vets and their many sacrifices. This reality, as unfortunate as it was, has led to a sense that we cannot allow this to happen to those returning from Iraq in the wake of 9/11, and this has meant we cannot critique the war efforts for fear of alienating this new generation of Vets. How many bumper stickers have you seen calling on us to “Support the Troops?”
Now you might be wondering what all of this has to do with God! Well, think for a moment about how religion has influenced our country’s path over the last 6 years. The current president has had his term defined by 9/11 (a religious-inspired terrorist attack). We “liberate” Iraq only to watch it descend into chaos when different religious factions struggle for power. The 2004 reelection of Bush is soaked in religious rhetoric desperately trying to attract people of faith to both sides. And now we face a presidential election that promises to be even more cloaked in religious talk (regardless of it’s religious walk). In a world where religion is cited as a basis for everything from elections to terrorism we must take back God from the crazies! That is to say we must stand up and say, “Wait just a minute!!! This is not the God I know; the God of love and compassion; the God of grace and mercy.” The God I follow does not call on us to fly plains into buildings and the God I know does not call on us to react in kind with violent military action. With all of this co-opting of God I keep waiting for one of the presidential candidates to claim God’s endorsement, but God claims each of us! God calls on us as people of faith to provide a different perspective; a different voice for this world. We must take back faith from those who seek to use it as a political tool or a lethal weapon. We must tell the world that God is about love.
Springsteen models it for us. “Born in the U.S.A.” is a mix of pride and criticism. It declares in one statement that we can be proud to be a citizen of the U.S. but that does not mean we a ccept what happens. This song alternates between the critical verses with their stinging hopelessness and the anthemic chorus claiming “Born in the U.S.A.” We can be proud of our country, but we must make our voice heard when our country needs help becoming something in which God can be proud. We may be “Born in the U.S.A.” but we are Children of God. Let’s live like it!
Grace and Peace,
Peej
“Born in the U.S.A.” lyrics
by Bruce Springsteen
Born down in a dead mans town
The first kick I took was when I hit the ground
You end up like a dog that’s been beat too much
Till you spend half your life just covering up
Born in the U.S.A., I was born in the U.S.A.
I was born in the U.S.A., born in the U.S.A.
Got in a little hometown jam
So they put a rifle in my hand
Sent me off to a foreign land
To go and kill the yellow man
Born in the U.S.A....
Come back home to the refinery
Hiring man said son if it was up to me
Went down to see my V.A. man
He said son, don’t you understand
I had a brother at Khe Sahn
Fighting off the Viet Cong
They’re still there, he’s all gone
He had a woman he loved in Saigon
I got a picture of him in her arms now
Down in the shadow of the penitentiary
Out by the gas fires of the refinery
I’m ten years burning down the road
Nowhere to run aint got nowhere to go
Born in the U.S.A., I was born in the U.S.A.
Born in the U.S.A., I’m a long gone daddy in the U.S.A.
Born in the U.S.A., born in the U.S.A.
Born in the U.S.A., I’m a cool rocking daddy in the U.S.A.
