God bless the USA.

FILE UNDER: A Moment of Clarity.




Being a college student during the Bush/Gore and Bush/Kerry face-offs of the early aughts definitely had its perks. Especially when you consider that said years of learning took place in the lovely far off state of Maine. And even more so when you factor in my status as a resident of the State of California. I mean, let’s face it, when it comes to voting cycles and the State of California, Democrats pretty much have that shit on lock. Yeah, we’ve got our fair share of swing voters, Idependents, and Rebulicans, but 9 times out 10, seeing California go blue in the midnight hour on CNN’s, ABC’s or Fox News’s power point map is pretty much a given. But in Maine, not so much. As a politician running for office –as is the case in many a state during an election season – you gotta put in work, cause you never know which way the tide will turn ; you gotta up the ante, place them phone calls, make those appearances, and get your word out to every college student, working parent, and voter on the fence who will listen. Sir George W. Bush, he knew this. And one of the greatest things I remember from his face-off with John Kerry was the clunky television advertisement that played constantly on local Maine affiliates soundtracked by, yep, you guessed it, God Bless the USA. Now let me go ahead and just say right off the bat that I’m no terrorist, and I’m with Mr. Mellencamp on that ‘this is our country’ tip, but I always found the song to be overblown and a little too patriotic, and once it was coupled with the imagery of George and Laura Bush chilling on a porch stoop as an apple pie cooled on a windowsill in the background [okay so maybe I am embellishing a little bit], I found it all to be quite hillarious.

But, it seemed that I was alone.

I realized this one brisk New England afternoon as I rode in the backseat of a former roommate’s car with his rents behind the wheel. As we inched towards campus, God Bless the USA came on through the speakers and I couldn’t help but chuckle, this time silently, for my chuckle was being drowned out by singing, yes singing, from my roommate’s mother in the front seat. This song was hitting a nerve as it had been and does for many an American, overblown lyrics and all. It is simply, for better or for worse [you decide] a non-threatening rallying call that many people can and choose to stand behind. So big ups to you Ms. Kristy Lee for both knowing and realizing this, and in turn using this song to override your shortcomings and ensure a spot on that stage next week. For better of for worse.