The recent Fourth of July holiday in the U.S., was an opportunity for me to once again appreciate the gift of liberty that I enjoy in my country. It is a gift that came with much sacrifice two hundred and thirty four years ago. And it seems the price of freedom has to be repaid with each new generation. Freedom, it seems, is never free, and cannot be purchased outright, but rather leased. I still think that one of the smartest things the founders of my country did was to separate religion from government. The result is that the U.S. remains a place where people of many faiths come together in a spirit of freedom and tolerance. It is a country where the people, through the right to vote, are constantly trying to improve the society in which they live. Since I write about music, permit me to share with you my own personal Fourth of July musical tradition which I recently observed. Before the fireworks and the barbeque, every year at this time, I put into my VCR an old video I have of the Broadway musical made into a movie “1776.” So on the Fourth of July, while those in Coney Island, New York are watching a hot-dog eating contest, I sit at home and watch historical figures such as John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and Benjamin Franklin sing and dance about the creation of this country of mine. Most of the film centers around the signing of the American Declaration of Independence. If I were sitting next to a historian, he or she would undoubtedly point out to me all the historical inaccuracies in the movie (the same thing I am tempted to do when watching the movie “Amadeus” about the life of Mozart with my students). Still, for me, “1776” captures the spirit of the times. It reminds its viewers of the tenuousness of the birth of this nation. The “superpower” of today, was at its inception a vulnerable loose collection of colonies and the young, rough continental army opposed a formidable foe in England. But the battles with guns are never shown in the movie “1776.” Rather, the movie is about the battle of ideas and opinions as to whether or not form a new nation, and if so what that new nation would look like. Ultimately, honorable men who represented a population with varying opinions came together to forge a unified course for the people they represented. The result is that today I sit in my home in a country called The United States of America. It is a country of which I am proud. And while I recognize the great challenges my country faces, on the Fourth of July, for one day out of the year I put down the newspapers and put in the video of “1776.” “1776” the musical has music and words by Sherman Edwards. There are many excerpts of the film available on Youtube for you to enjoy, but I share this favorite clip with you: “Is Anybody There?“ sings John Adams, one of the nations founders as he quotes General George Washington on the eve of battle. Victory is far from certain, but the song offers a powerful vision for the birth of a new nation based on freedom. BM
