"AMERICA THE BEAUTIFUL"

(Washington Crossing the Delaware JPG Img)

Emanuel Gottlieb Leutze, American, 1816-1868 George Washington Crossing the Delaware, 1851
Oil on Canvas; 12 2/5 x 21 1/4 in. (378.5 x 647.7 cm) Gift of John S. Kennedy, 1897 (97.34)
Property of Metropolitian Museum of Art (www.metmuseum.org)

My name is Bill Pepe and I live in North Carolina and I am a veteran of D Day and the battles for northern France.
I wear the spearhead and two battle stars on my ETO ribbon.

I am neither a pacifist nor a war lover and I grieve that we are called upon from time to time to bear
arms in the defense of the principles of democracy.

I lost my only son in Viet Nam, fighting an unpopular war so that others might protest our involvement. My daughter
served in the Army Reserves and is a veteran of Desert Storm and my granddaughter has recently won a
citation for action above and beyond the call of duty in iraq, with the Marine Corps.

This family has made it's contributions to the preservation of democracy and we are extremely proud that we have met
our responsibilities in far greater measure than most. I feel that I have earned the right
to express the following opinion and ask that you seriously consider what I feel is in the national interest.

I have seen this great country from the grass roots, from the stark rugged beauty of the rock strewn coasts of Maine
to the soft brown eyes of the Monterrey seals. I've been through the searing, blistering heat of the Nebraska deserts
and gazed in awe upon the incomparable majesty of the Grand Canyon carved out of antiquity.

I've captured the heritage and image of this land in the many faces of it's people and I've felt the pulse of it's life's blood
coursing through it's rivers and streams. I have suffered the pain of the persecuted and the proprietary
attitude of the privileged.

I have fought this country's battles and enjoyed the fruits of it's bounty. I have seen this country grow,
not through territorial gains but in it's productivity from within and it's magnanimity towards the less
fortunate. We have grown and prospered not because we are the most powerful but because we understand that if
we are to flourish then we must be compassionate towards those who do not have the capacity to help themselves.

We are a bountiful country, fostered by farmers, mechanics, white collar professionals, housewives and mothers.
We are a talented company of people, ingenious and innovative, gleaned from every ethnic community
of the world, each in his own way, contributing to the welfare of his neighbor.

We are primarily peaceful in nature but when aroused, can bring any tyrant to his knees. We have been cruelly tested
from the earliest struggle for independence from King George III to the shameful contest of arms between
neighbors to determine whether the articles of constitution should survive.

We have fought successive battles to preserve these articles and our national anthem speaks of these conflicts.
The Star Spangled Banner, in it's time, has served the purpose of arousing the general public in defense of
these articles and has addressed itself in a prideful manner.

However, it was born of a war and the music borrowed from an old British drinking song which is also difficult
to sing. It was done in haste without too much thought about the true meaning of what this country is all about.
We embraced it because we needed a rallying point and there really wasn't too much else to choose from.

I think this country deserves better than a common barroom ditty. We need something that embraces all of the people
and reduces the complexities of an amalgamous nation into a common bond that can be
expressed in simple and honest form.

The old Star Spangled Banner has served it's purpose but it is now time to move onto something more in keeping with
the character and conscience of this country and it's people.

Sing not of rockets and bombs and the horrors of war Sing of this countrys glory and greatness. Sing
of it's spirit and charity. Sing of it's bounty. Sing of it's people and the
love of freedom. Sing of the brotherhood of man. This is how I see my beloved country.

We are the hope and promise of the rest of the world and we must convey this image
to those who are on the brink of despair.

Sing

AMERICA THE BEAUTIFUL

dedicated to
Katharine Lee Bates 1859-1929