Irving Berlin’s “God Bless America”

Found in about six different places…

In light of what is going on over in London, and the very real danger that it represents to their entire society, I wouldn’t help but think of the spurs we have had to patriotism and service to our own society through the years.

Here is an absolute gem…. In case you don’t know it, this is the person that is referred to as “The Fat Lady” in the trite verbalization of “It’s not over till the fat lady sings”.

Kate Smith was born and grew up in Columbia, Missouri . In early 1940, Kate Smith, a fiercely patriotic American, and the biggest star on radio, was deeply worried about her country.

She asked Irving Berlin if he could give her a song that would re-ignite the spirit of American patriotism and faith. He said he had a song that he had written in 1917, but never used it.

He said she could have it. She sat at the piano & played it and realized how good it was. She called Mr. Berlin and told him that she couldn’t take this from him for nothing.

So, they agreed that any money that would be made off the song would be donated to the Boy Scouts of America . Thanks to Kate Smith and Irving Berlin, the Scouts have received millions of dollars in royalties. This clip is from the movie “You’re in the Army Now”. You will see a familiar face (near the very end) in this one that we are all very proud of.

Frank Sinatra said that when Kate Smith, whom he considered the greatest singer of his age, first sang this song on the radio, a million guys got ‘dust’ in their eyes and had to wipe the tears the ‘dust’ caused. If you can watch and listen without ‘dust’ getting in your eyes, you have no soul. Sit back and enjoy a Real Star.

Be very clear… we are not awfully far away from where London and the nation of England is.  If we as a nation are not very, very careful about the decisions we make over the next months and years… well…

Thankfully, as believers, and I don’t mean this at all as a “hide your head in the sand” kind of statement, but rather as a “this is our only real hope” (and should have been where our trust had been all along) kind of statement, but we know that there is God in His heaven Who has in His hand the affairs of men.  Of course, this not to say that men are neither responsible nor accountable for what they do, they most certainly are.  But God’s children, those who Who know Him as His own, can be certain that they are held closely in that hand and that He will care for them come what may as a Father ought and as that Father has promised.

It is true that God put America here to use to accomplish His purposes, and for that reason He has blessed her.  There is reason to continue to continue to seek Him in prayer and beg Him to continue to “bless America” in an ongoing fashion.  He has certainly blessed wicked nations bent on their own will before.

But, on the other hands, He has had absolutely no compunction and not hesitate about allowing those nation to spiral down into sin and fade into the dust of history, while seeing to it that His people survive and persist.  We are not here to be nation builders, at least not the kind that the unredeemed build.