Sunday, April 6, 2014

WE WERE AMAZED WHEN OUR DASH BOARD INDICATED THAT OUR TWO MOST VISITED OLDER POSTS WERE

TWO STATION IDENTIFICATION ( NOW CALLED "HOME PAGE / NOTICES") PAGES FROM LAST AUGUST 

Waving Flag #3

The really Odd thing that we noticed was the two pages had an equal number of visitors. Clearly they had to have something in common. The only thing we could find was a link to a particular version of the the national anthem of the United States of America, "The Star Spangled Banner" . We then noticed that the link to that particular version which first appeared on the birthday of the U.S. Coast Guard August 4, 2013 had expired and that the link we used a few days later was different and still working. That convinced us that what we were looking at were visitors wanting to link in and listen to the version of the Star Spangled banner that we ran on August 4, 2013.  On that day we wrote:

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY U.S.COAST GUARD !
 Waving Flag #3
About my generation: General Colin Powell once said:
"There were more of you at Da Nang`than at Woodstock."
Well, honestly we would have preferred Woodstock. Anyway we really should start the day with the National anthem. So from the generation that invented Rock and Roll here is an anthem you can rock to.                                                 :  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c8C7i9kdEf8

 We formerly ran the Star Spangled banner daily, featuring different versions periodically by different artists. Then for a while we also linked into the national anthems of the entire family of English speaking nations. We tried to find different versions by different artists for all of the Anthems. It simply began to take up too much space and too much time. More over during that time frame we began to receive site visits from tens of thousands of visitors from non English speaking nations, offering intelligent comments in English. Frankly, we had forgotten that English is the most widely spoken second language on Earth. I think that we may have also forgotten that our foreign visitors click in largely to get an American perspective and view on the maritime issues of the day. 

  The United States gave up trillions of dollars in treasure and 95,205 young American lives in defense of global freedom, or at least the potential for global freedom during the Cold War which contained at least two "hot" theaters of operations; Korea and Vietnam. Then the Berlin Wall fell and we thought we were in a "New World Order" that featured a growing global middle class, democracy, and free markets. The people demanded a "peace dividend" from the federal government that shrank our military. Some years later America was attacked on her own soil by terrorist aided and abetted by terrorist supporting states. We struck back, it cost us 6,717 dead American military members (about 3,000 civilians died in the attack on New York) and again trillions in dollars over nearly a decade and a half of war. An exhausted American public took a break from battle and elected a bunch of dreamers who promised some serious attention and unique approaches to long neglected societal issues such as health care , social security, and educational access. What we got instead was the same old failed socialists programs in new wrapping. The cost of the programs was largely paid by our military budget. 

 As a people we became "battle fatigued" and fell down from the ramparts of freedom, especially freedom of the seas. Russia and China have not reformed but as soon as their economies picked up from the aftermath of their own failed socialists experiments proved themselves to be thug states. Meanwhile the struggle with the Islamist terrorists groups and their supporting states is still not over. Every where that America went in defense of freedom over the last 50 years much of the rest of the English speaking nations went with us. All of the English speaking societies are tired and figuratively licking their wounds by reducing military spending even as threats multiply. We've made big mistakes in the people that we have elected since the twin towers fell, driven in no small measure by a kind of societal battle fatigue. 

 However, the clear majority of Americans understand that "Freedom isn't free". The message in the "Madison Rising" version of the Star Spangled banner is not only that the freedom loving warrior spirit of the majority of Americans is still alive and well but determined to again join the present defenders on the ramparts of freedom. As the artist says in an ad lib in the recording "we're still here." Our system doesn't allow an instant vote of no confidence in government but we will remove the worst of the idiots within 36 months. "We're still here" and we'll we back on the ramparts soon. We do know the cost of freedom, and we are still willing to pay any price, oppose any foe, support any friend so that freedom does not perish from the earth. "We're still here" and all we really ever wanted is to live in peace and freedom and sometimes it has been hard for us to accept that freedom threatened anywhere is freedom threatened everywhere. Its hard to convey the real spirit of the average American in words alone. But the words, music, and images of the Madison Rising video of the Star Spangled banner will give any viewer a visceral understanding of America. 

The Madison Rising Version of the Star Spangled Banner

Johnas Presbyter, Editor



                                              



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