It was a cloudy, slightly humid day at the annual Mayor's Fourth of July Picnic. Pork loin sandwiches and Coke were freely dispensed, the municipal band was playing, and the flags were flying...a great day to be an American. The local pork producer was one of the sponsors(hence the sandwiches), so they were giving out little pig keychains to everyone. They had stickers on them that said, "Made in China"...how ironic.
 After the band concert, they were playing patriotic music over the PA system. They played Celine Dion's performance of "America the Beautiful". Dion is a Canadian...how ironic. Of course I don't mind that, because she's made quite a name(and fortune) for herself here, so I'm totally cool with her giving props to her adopted home. It was just interesting to note.
 Then another song come on that completely blew me away. I listened to every word with rapt attention. It had several singers, only two of which I was able to pick out at the time. Still, it led to me getting something stuck in my eye for the next several minutes:

From Delaware to Tennessee to Hawaii
From mountaintops we have dreamed from sea to shining sea
And now here we are
We have come, we have prevailed
For whosoever dreamed this is your win
And here we are... here we are
At the dawn, and the morning
Of a brand new day
For us, in the spirit of our fathers

America, America
America is beautiful (beautiful, yes it is)
My America, Your America
Our America is beautiful
And may God, may God keep us together
'Cause America is beautiful (beautiful yeah)

Let liberty and justice ring for all
Let your dreams stand tall
May opportunities fall upon you
In the land of the free
We have come, we have prevailed
For whosoever dreamed this is your win
And here, here we are... here we are
At the start of a horizon
Of a brand new day
For us, in the spirit of our fathers

America, America
America is beautiful (yes it is, so beautiful)
My America, Your America
Our America is beautiful

May Jesus, and may God
May God keep us together
May God keep us together
America is beautiful... to me
America, America
America is beautiful (so beautiful) to me

 The music was so majestic, the singing and lyrics so impassioned, I was online trying to find out more about it immediately upon getting home. During my research, I came across the YouTube video below:

 In any kind of video about one's country, one expects to find an occasional image of their elected leaders. No problem. But as I continued to watch, and as more and more frames of President Obama and crowds praising him came in waves, I began to sense that something far different than what I had gotten caught up in at the park was actually taking place.
 Then the end came, followed by the copyright: © 2009 Harpo Productions, Inc....and I knew. My heart sank; every ounce of love I had felt for this song immediately fell away and I realized, however briefly, that I had been duped. For those who aren't aware and might not have caught it, "Harpo" is Oprah spelled backwards. Harpo Productions is her company. This whole grand production was nothing more than a tribute, clothed in a cheap, transparent disguise of patriotism, to Ms. Winfrey's new-found greatest love: the Marxist-in-chief Barack Obama.
 The song has been out for a few months now, but this was the first I'd heard of it. I'd like to know where this project was during Bush 43, or even Clinton. Would we still have seen it come to life if Alan Keyes were the first black president right now? Of course not, because that would have only been half the pie for Oprah. For the first time in her adult life, she's really proud of her country(©2008 Michelle Obama).
 Now she has the American "utopia" she's always wanted: an elected leader who matches her ideology first and foremost, as well as her pigmentation, which is a close second place. Unfortunately, the skin color was the only thing that changed. One could argue that fulfills the "hope" aspect of Obama's original campaign rhetoric, but it really doesn't make any difference when you consider that the man himself offers nothing in terms of policy that we haven't heard from his party over the last several decades. It's just on a more massive level that will bankrupt this country, if left unchecked and unchallenged...which means the "change" part of the equation is nonexistent.
 There were a scant two very brief frames of US soldiers in the video which felt tossed-off and obligatory. If this were meant to be a genuine tribute to the USA, it would have been they, not Obama(featured in twenty-two frames), that were the overarching theme of the presentation! It's brave, working-class men and women from all walks of life, that have offered and given all, that make this the greatest nation on earth. Every politician that has arrived after the founding fathers has ridden on, and been a beneficiary of, those brave and humble coattails.
 We all recognize that Oprah, as much as any of us, has the right to support whatever political party and members of it that she chooses. There are far too many people who sit comfortably at home and, sadly, never bother to make such a decision. My beef is when she and people who think like her only celebrate and love their country when they get their way, and "America's Song" reflects this to the hilt! To myself and many others across the various racial, ethnic, and political isles of US citizens born or legally naturalized, it is a pandering and insulting joke.
 Besides, and let's be precise about this: President Obama is actually the first bi-racial president(his mother is white). This is actually a much more marketable symbolism if he, Oprah, and other civil rights personalities were to be honest about it, as opposed to their desire to perpetuate racial divisions for their own gain. A bi-racial president represents the truest form of an integrated society in one man, a powerful declaration of unity that stamps the exclamation point of a people no longer willing to accept anything less. Creating a song like this only undermines that sentiment, settling instead for low class, politically motivated taunting. It officially makes this group of people the most ungracious winners I have ever seen after an election.
 Tonight, I will venture out to watch one of many spectacular fireworks displays put on around the area. Like other real patriots, I will celebrate this country in the same consistent manner as I have during every presidency in my life to date, regardless of my agreement or the lack thereof with their respective platforms. Unlike Oprah and her ilk, I will not cherry-pick my moments to love this country. Whichever party holds power, I will always salute the flag, my heart will always skip a beat listening to one of our many anthems, and I will never forget we are one nation under God. How ironic.