This past week was another wonderful opportunity at a Swearing-In Ceremony for new U.S. Citizens here in Utah. One of my friends was there for her mother, and shared this video of Alex Boye singing the National Anthem. Alex Boye is a marvelous singer, not only a soloist in his own right, but also a member of and soloist for the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.
The whole thing was videotaped and posted to YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FsPKM9ixW_w
At the beginning of this clip, he says that he has sung the National Anthem over 100 times. And then he chokes up as he says that the next time he sings it he will be an American U.S. Citizen – so the judge invites him to the front to sing it for the whole group.
How grateful I am for being a U.S. Citizen. How grateful I am for being born here, and for the tremendous freedoms that being American affords. How grateful I am for the brave men and women who defend this country and my freedoms every day. Unfortunately, I have had to use our legal system and law enforcement recently – but how grateful I am to have had those protections.
In 1916 my grandmother was abandoned by her husband. At the time women didn’t even have the right to vote (Women got the vote in 1920). She couldn’t find a job, so she had to take her 4 young children and move back in with her parents. Eventually her parents made her marry her brother-in-law who had been recently widowed. She had no rights, no education, no work experience – she was dependent upon others to care for her and her children.
How amazingly grateful I am that I have rights. How grateful I am for an awesome job and great bosses. How blessed I am that I can stay in my home, and have the support of wonderful neighbors. How much I cherish my religious freedoms.
I’m certain that the National Anthem will never be the same for Alex Boye. And I hope that it will always bring a lump to my throat as it did today.
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