"What
do we mean by patriotism in the context of our times? I venture to
suggest that what we mean is a sense of national responsibility … a
patriotism which is not short, frenzied outbursts of emotion, but the
tranquil and steady dedication of a lifetime."  ~Adlai Stevenson

Over the weekend my husband and I headed to downtown St. Paul for the street dance held every year after the opening Prairie Home Companion Show. Saturday night was October in its perfection. The street in front of the Fitzgerald Theater was closed off and long tables covered in red checkered table cloths lined the street. Bright orange pumpkins sat on the tables and people autographed them as they sat eating meatloaf and mashed potatoes. At the far end of the street,a large stage had been erected and music played, loon calls were heard from people of all ages, dance contest winners were named and the most beautiful baby was chosen. How can one baby be more beautiful than the next, I say? But it was all in good fun. The music was down home and the mood was relaxed and good spirited.

That’s when Garrison Keillor stepped to the microphone and asked everyone present to sing with him. The band began the introduction and I realized we were not going to sing "You Are My Sunshine" or some other folk song but instead "The Star Spangled Banner."

Here is moment of self-disclosure. I am not fond of this song. As songs that speak of the love I have for our country, I vote for "American the Beautiful." For my money, the tune is lovely, singable and nearly everyone sounds good singing it. Add to that the wonderful words that tell of the vast diversity of the landscape that is the United States, and I believe you can’t miss. But that’s just me. I have stood in more stadiums than I care to think of and listened as bands, individuals and choirs sing our national anthem, sometimes with limited skill, and it always feels like the obligatory act before the real fun begins. Again, that’s just me.

But on Saturday night something amazing, something magical, something miraculous happened as strangers began singing together. Folks who had been talking while the other entertainment was happening, rose from their rented folding chairs. Men removed their hats. Even the children that had been wiggling and dancing with abandon stopped. As if we had rehearsed it under the baton of the director of the St. Olaf Choir, we sang…..some added harmony….while others gave their all to the melody that we know so well. A great silence hung in the autumn sky and for that moment in time we were a people suspended in time, unruffled and unaffected by the negative political climate, without fear of any economic downturn. This gathered body of strangers became a people united by the universal language, music, and the eternal human experience… hope.