Thoughts from Dr. Joe: The national anthem should not be overlooked
I took copious notes in Sister Audrey’s metaphysics class, especially the little quips that she called “tidbits of wisdom.” Sister was very demonstrative and when she wanted to make a point, and since she was barely 5 feet tall, she’d stand on the desk and issue her edict.
I recall the lecture she gave about the courage of conviction. Her arms flailed, her eyes bulged and her voice reached the crescendo of Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy.” She then mounts the desk and proclaims, “It’s hard to lead a cavalry charge when you think you look funny on a horse.”
She then says, “Get it.” I’m not sure I got, but I wrote her words in my journal.
I believe she meant we should believe in our convictions, and when we do, we have to act. She was a big proponent of walking the walk and not merely talking the talk. So, with that in mind, I have to be a Debbie Downer and give my two cents regarding last Saturday night’s basketball game at La Cañada High.
What happened to the national anthem? For the past three home games — nothing! Did La Cañada secede from the union? There’s more to a Blue Ribbon school than great teachers and high test scores. We can tout that we’re No. 1 till the cows come home, but I believe something that defines stellar is missing in that equation.
It’s futile to intellectualize the importance of respecting an ideal that represents our common origin. It should be understood. If you don’t get it, you don’t get it.
Have we become desensitized whereby playing the national anthem is so mundane that its absence hardly raises an eyebrow? If that’s the case, then the traditions that have been the staple of Americanism will atrophy. And perhaps one day we’ll wake up and ask: what’s the national anthem?
Am I the Lone Ranger on this issue? I hope I’m not, but it appears I am. Organically, America is polarized. However, polarization worked in our best interests. Traditionally, we are a quilt, a composite of many different patches. At one point in our heritage, we were stitched together by a commonality that superseded our differences. The Latin phrase, E Pluribus Unum, out of many one, describes this alchemy. However, our traditions such as reverence for an American ideal depicted by the national anthem are atrophying.
On the surface, not paying homage to the American ideal at an LCHS basketball game is minor. But triviality often erodes a foundation. As a people, we’ll rarely see things eye to eye. If you’ve seen what I have or experienced what I have, you’d understand my lament. But experiences are different; consequently, so are our values.
As I left the gym last Saturday night, I read a statement imprinted on the wall adjacent to the exit. I assume that it was the mantra of the California Interscholastic Federation revering the utility of sports. The last thought expressed that sports are a conduit toward good citizenship. Perhaps the administrative staff of LCHS should read what’s imprinted on that wall.
Sister Audrey would not approve of saying something if you were merely talking the talk. Education! It has to mean something more than test scores. You’d think in a privileged and Blue Ribbon school, the national anthem would not be forgotten.
There are no rationales for my argument. Rationales are superfluous. But let me tell you why I honor the anthem. Last month in Washington, D.C., in blizzard conditions that produced 24 to 36 inches of snow, there was a picture of a soldier manning his post at the Tomb of the Unknowns. Layers of snow covered his body. His face was frozen in ice. One could barely see the commitment in his eyes to the soldiers who are known but to God. He’s my rationale.
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JOE PUGLIA is a practicing counselor, a retired professor of education and a former officer in the Marines. Reach him at doctorjoe@ymail.com. Visit his website at doctorjoe.us.
