On this Memorial Day morning I was thinking how lucky we all are that Irving Berlin was born when he was and thus was able to write “God Bless America” when he did.
From Wikipedia:
As you may or may not be aware Irving Berlin originally wrote the song while serving in the U.S. Army at Camp Upton in Yaphank, New York at the end of World War I, but decided that it did not fit in a revuecalled Yip Yip Yaphank, so he set it aside.
In 1938, with the rise of Adolf Hitler, Berlin, who was Jewish and had arrived in the U.S. from Russia at the age of five, felt it was time to revive it as a “peace song”, and it was introduced on an Armistice Daybroadcast in 1938, sung by Kate Smith on her radio show.
Try to conceptualize what would have happened if Irving Berlin was born in 1988 instead of 1888. Would he then have written “God Bless America” in 2024? More to the point could he have written that same song in today’s political milieu? Which words in that title would have been acceptable to the general public? “God” … no! “Bless” … no! “America” … not likely, as these words are only acceptable to those on the right!
Today Kate Smith would probably not be able to sing “God Bless America” on a nationwide show as the left would never stand for it. The major networks (ABC,CBS, & NBC) would neither be able to say “God” or “Bless” on live T.V nor would they be able to convince a lot of their viewers that there could be such a thing as a patriotic song.
Personally, I love “God Bless America” and tear-up a bit each time I hear it sung, especially when sung by Kate Smith. I think we all are fortunate that Irving Berlin was born when he was.
5/27/24