Today I feel the need to sing, out loud, with my friends and neighbors, to sing away our anger and our fear. To sing songs of freedom. To sing to drown out the voice of an American president who has said words that have threatened many Americans. Now he has singled out Americans who are Jewish to tell us how to vote. As if we voted with one voice. As if we did not vote as Americans.
Today, There are no more hootenannies, group sings, or sing alongs. But I remember the songs. I remember the lyrics, I remember the tunes. Songs never change, their truths are eternal.
I saw the movie “Yesterday”, in which only a few people on earth remembered the Beatles songs. I remember them. In college when people would sing and play the guitar, I could always provide the lyrics. I sang with others then, we all sang away our anger and our fear.
I am watching a special, on Public television, featuring folk singers from the 1960’s and 1970’s. Most don’t sing old folk songs. They sing songs composed during their era. They sing idealistic, anti-war, pro-humanity songs.
I am in a motel listening to the music while my husband sleeps. He is tired from our beach day beach day with our 11 year old grandson. We have had a beach day with him almost every year since he was a toddler. At 11, he still enjoys this tradition. He jumped in the ocean and swam and dunked under the water, all smiles. My husband joined him. The beach we go to is on Long Island sound. The waves are gentle, and people swim in the water. I watched from the shore. I used to love to swim in the salty water, every summer since I was a little girl. This stretch of Connecticut shore feels like home to me. Now I just dip my feet in the water, gripping my cane and my husband’s hand. But it’s worth it. I watch the sun sparkle on the waves, feel the ocean breeze blow on my bare arms and legs, and see my grandson’s smile.
As I recall my day, the folk music keeps playing. My favorite is Bobby Darin’s “Come and Sing a Simple Sing of Freedom.” He saw the need to sing then, we need to sing again. Several versions of “Turn, Turn, Turn” are played. It is Pete Seegers song with lyrics from Ecclesiastes. For everything there is a season.
Today, for me, many seasons have come together. It is a time of joy. I have recently been seriously ill and I am rejoicing to have made it to the beach with our grandson. It is a family tradition, a summer tradition. It is part of the American tradition of enjoying a summer vacation, whether at the shore, in the mountains, or sightseeing in our cities.
But today is also a day of anger and fear. Anger that a powerful man, the president of our country, has said words that threaten me. Fear, for my grandchildren, living in a country with increasing gun violence, where our leader feels free to threaten me and others with a claim of “disloyalty” if we don’t vote for him.
I will not dignify his comments by saying his name. I will only say that I will vote in accordance with my American values and my view of what our democracy should be. I will honor our founding fathers’ vision of a separation of church and state, by observing the religion I choose. I will honor the words George Washington wrote to the Congregation of the Touro Synagogue in Rhode Island, “to bigotry no sanction”.
I will sing. I will find other Americans to sing with me. Once again, we will sing songs of freedom. We will pledge our funds to politicians that share our values, and those funds will grow. We will speak and sing truth to power. We will do this as Americans, loyal Americans, raising our voices. We will cast our votes for those candidates that share the vision of an America where no one is intimidated based on the color of their skin, the religion that they practice, or the people that they love.
Let’s sing again America, let us sing!
