Proud to be an American?

[JABIII]

And are you really free?...

Country singer Lee Greenwood is no longer a member of the National Council on the Arts, Greenwood said on Fox News Thursday.

''I was quite shocked, to tell you the truth,'' Greenwood confessed. ''I didn’t get a phone call or letter. It was just an email.''

The singer’s patriotic anthem, ''God Bless the USA,'' has been played at hundreds of political events since it debuted in 1984. He was first appointed to the council by President George W. Bush, and also served under Presidents Barack Obama and Donald Trump. Of the well-known song, Greenwood said, ''It’s meant for all people, not just for a particular political party.''




The singer told Newsmax earlier this year, ''Everywhere I go, I see people who want to be just an American. They just want to have a great life and live every single day helping their neighbors and helping veterans.''

Discussing his song ''God Bless the USA,'' which repeats the phrase ''proud to be an American'' several times, Greenwood said, ''"It reflects for me the freedom that I had to do, what I wanted to do to make my life fun and it is. I thank every single soldier, sailor, Marine, Coast Guard, Space X people that are doing their very best to make this country free."

Greenwood became the latest presidential appointee to be replaced or asked to resign by the Biden administration. Earlier this month, the Biden administration asked several members of former President Donald Trump's administration, including Sean Spicer, former counselor Kellyanne Conway, and ex-national security adviser H.R. McMaster, to either resign from their appointment advisory roles on military boards or be dismissed.

Spicer, a former White House spokesman and current host of "Spicer & Co." on Newsmax, said it was ''frankly insulting" to have his board service questioned. Spicer was appointed to the Naval Academy’s Board of Visitors by then-President Donald Trump.

When asked about President Biden’s reasons for terminating the military appointments Sept. 8, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said, ''The president’s objective is what any president’s objective is: to ensure you have nominees and people serving on these boards who are qualified to serve on them and who are aligned with your values,'' The Washington Post reported.

No reason has been provided regarding Greenwood’s dismissal.

https://www.newsmax.com/politics/gre...23/id/1037702/

https://www.foxnews.com/media/lee-gr...administration

[JABIII]

Story Behind the Song: Lee Greenwood's 'God Bless the U.S.A.'
Dave Paulson
Nashville Tennessean
September 1, 2021

It's been nearly 40 years since Lee Greenwood wrote his signature "God Bless The U.S.A." — a patriotic anthem informed by his veteran father, his experiences traveling across the country in a tour bus, and one of Elvis Presley's late-period classics, among a lifetime of other experiences.

In a conversation with Bart Herbison of Nashville Songwriters Association International, Greenwood traced the four-decade path to "God Bless," and the journey the song has taken in the decades since.

Bart Herbison: There’s a small handful of songs that I characterize as perfect songs, Lee. Take us back to that day. What inspired you for this? You know it may be one of the most recognizable songs, globally, ever written.

Lee Greenwood: I was raised on a farm in Sacramento, California. My parents were divorced when I was a year old, so my grandparents were my guardians. My father joined the Navy after the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941, so you can see I was born about a year later. My mom had to work several jobs in order to support me and my sister, so she really couldn’t afford to have childcare while she was working so that’s why I was raised by my grandparents, Thomas and Edna Jackson, who I love dearly.

I had farm chores, I had music. My mother was a piano player in the ‘40s. We had a little Spinet piano in the corner of our trailer. I was allowed to play every evening if I wanted to and it was just something I could not tear myself away from. I listened to all kinds of music growing up. I played for The American Legion, The VFW, and marching in parades. I was immersed in all kinds of music. I learned more than the piano while I was in junior high and high school, and by the time I graduated in 1960, I had formed my own band and left for Nevada. During those early years – because I was the drum major in the high school marching band – I really enjoyed the marches of Sousa and many of the other composers and leading my own band in The National Anthem. Then (I was) working for the USO when I was 15 and 16 at McClellan and major Air Force bases in Sacramento…I got a good taste of the military and their sacrifice.

Lee Greenwood, left, speaks with Bart Herbison, right, for 'Story Behind the Song'
…I spent 20 years in Nevada writing music, playing for revues of all kinds, even dealing cards in the casinos where I learned the psychology of people under pressure, gambling, and drinking at the same time…So, there was a lot of input at that time, and there was something inside me that said, “Someday I’d like to write a song like (‘An American Trilogy’) that Elvis sings.” We were working in the same hotel several times and I listened to the song. It was inspiring. Of course, I learned a lot of the (patriotic) songs when I was learning my music in high school. I just said, “If I ever get to Nashville, and I think that’s probably where I will end up because L.A. chewed me up and spit me out, I’ll write a song kind of like the trilogy.”


Well, it took me almost three years after I got to Nashville as a touring artist, and there wasn’t any interest in releasing “God Bless the U.S.A” as a single record. If you were pursuing a career, it was romantic love songs, ballads that really hit the public right in the heart. When I toured with so many different acts, I got inspired again to write the song that would eventually become America’s most recognized anthem.


I did it on my bus one night in ’83. I already had four albums I think, two albums a year at the time. …That particular year, we already had an album song chosen, “You’ve Got a Good Love Comin',” the title of the album that year for release for 1984. When Universal made the call after they heard “U.S.A.” on that album to release it as a single, I was just surprised. I think that if that had not happened, no one would have ever heard the song, and it probably would have just been one of those things in my discography that I was proud of, but it was more than that. When it got on the radio, the audience heard it, it became the song for the National Guard of Tennessee, and then the military, and then with President Reagan and his ‘84 campaign, which I was part of, and then moved forward to Hurricane Katrina and the Gulf War – not in that order – and the (September 11) attack on America. Each time, more Americans found “God Bless the U.S.A” to be a song of spirit and unity. It didn’t happen overnight.

…I’m a conservative Christian, and even though most people recognize the song who may not be Christian, or just don’t know how to sing the whole song (think) “I’m Proud to Be an American” is the title. I’ll go with that, and as far as on the sheet music MCA has listed, after pressure for many years, “God Bless the U.S.A.” (with the) subtitle “I’m Proud to Be an American.”

I’m O.K. with that. The reason I wrote that line was not just because my father served in World War II, and survived it by the way, but I hadn’t heard for many, many years that people were proud of their heritage. My heritage is American. Sure, I’m German, English, Irish, Scottish, but I was born in the United States of America and this is my heritage, American…So, when I said “I’m proud to be an American where at least I know I’m free,” I know that resonated with every American who has lost a son or daughter in conflict combat, and maybe just the strife of how we exist here in America. There’s no other country like this that’s free like we are.

About the series
In partnership with Nashville Songwriters Association International, the "Story Behind the Song" video interview series features Nashville-connected songwriters discussing one of their compositions. For full video interviews with all of our subjects, visit www.tennessean.com/music.

https://www.tennessean.com/story/ent...-a/5575603001/

[bluetick1955]

Not as much as I used to be

[Maggie Glover]

We live in a time when flying an American flag can be considered signaling (triggering, if you will) to others. MG

[nitro5x6's]

I love our Country, but hate the people who are trying to run it into the ground. Eff them all.

[Kioti]

Not as much as I used to be

That's part of the plan. Install people who hate America in every prominent position which in turn makes the patriots start to hate their country. They are trying to demoralize the strong.

[LowcountryBuck]

Not as much as I used to be

That's a sad statement. America isn't defined by fringe groups, left, right, Trump, Biden, etc. We live in the greatest country on the planet, although not perfect. Never has been. But, on its worst day it's still better than any other on their best day.

[w33kender]

I live too far off the main road to trigger anybody but I fly the American and USMC flags off the front porch every day. Not proud of everything in our history but damn proud to be an American, a citizen of a country with the best civil liberties in the history of civil liberties. My gripes about America are overshadowed by the things in which I'm thankful.

[Jozie & Me]

I fly one so you know where I stand.

Don’t like it, go stand somewhere else.

[bluetick1955]

Not me. Fly flag every day be name things our country has done in last 8 months that make you proud. It not the country but the communists that are running it.

All about power and greed

[WoodieSC]

I'm proud to be an 'American', but not one under any sort of Democrat Party rule. They are the most corrupt, immoral, evil creatures around and all should be drop-shipped into the middle of the Antarctic in their Summer outfits. Screw 'em all... including all of our 'Woke' military commanders.

[JABIII]

Even shithead liberals are waking up to the communist takeover, while RINO's run cover for them on "our" behalf.

"We need to stop regarding this new woke segregation as if it's some sort of cultural advancement. It's not. … Countries do disintegrate into madness when they indulge their separatist tendencies; Hutus slaughtering Tutsis in Rwanda, Catholics and Protestants in Ireland, Sunnis and Shiites in Iraq, Hindus and Muslims in Kashmir, everyone in Afghanistan and that one Jew. We need to unite as one nation who come together and sing one anthem always out of key," Maher added.

This planet hasn't faced what it is facing since the Khans came pouring out of Mongolia. However the Khanate generally respected individual cultures, religions, and points of view of conquered nations, so long as the conquered acknowledged the Khan as the boss and paid their taxes. These people do not hew to such notions. They will happily see you dead in the name of Woke, then they will eliminate the woke after their usefulness is at an end. This is the real deal folks, and it is damned impressive to watch...

https://www.foxnews.com/entertainmen...-anthem-debate

[Calibogue]

Whoopie doesn't give a shit about an anthem for the native indians or any other segregated sect of society!

[JABIII]

Correct. It is all just noise...

[GMAC]

What's going on is, the current administration is systematically reversing everything done by the Trump administration. Every executive order, every appointment, good or bad. The point is simply to erase Trump. Just like an Egyptian pharoah chiselling off every reference to his predecessor. Then they lie to our faces about it. They know they're lying. They know we know they're lying. But they don't care. Just words to get them through the press conference. The most glaring example is how the border crisis is Trump's fault. Things are bad in this country.

[JABIII]

While all that is certainly true, you don't mention the Republican Leadership's role in it, and you should replace the last word in your post with the word WORLD. The communist wave is engulfing more than just this country...

[Catdaddy]

https://photos.app.goo.gl/D52Ybq7xF7XMzZMA9

Sent from my moto z4 using Tapatalk

[Fish]

While all that is certainly true, you don't mention the Republican Leadership's role in it, and you should replace the last word in your post with the word WORLD. The communist wave is engulfing more than just this country...

All of this is simply being allowed. The loud minority that is currently getting its way is in desperate need of a bloody nose on numerous fronts.