America turns 240 years old on Monday.

I consider myself a patriotic person. I love my country. I love the men and women who keep us free. I love our democracy. I look on our nations flag with reverence and will spend time staring at it whenever I can. And while I’m not a singer (trust me!) I happily will belt out America the Beautiful, God Bless America, and of course the Star Spangled Banner. One of my downtime activities is searching social media (YouTube mostly) for moments that simply give me the chills.

Here are a few I have found. The common denominator in all these videos is that it’s about the song. Not the performer. I admit that it bothers me when an “artist” changes or “tweaks” our national anthem.

 

The crowd steps in to help a young singer:

 

The Kentucky All State Choir takes over an entire hotel:

 

Our friends to the north:

 

The first sporting event in Boston after the Marathon Bombings. Includes tributes to the first responders and victims. The anthem starts at 3:40. Not sure how anyone who watches this can keep it together.

 

If you’ve never heard Wayne Messmer sing our National Anthem you’re missing out. He’s my personal favorite.

 

And finally….. I was there. It remains one of the best things I have ever experienced. We were at war. A war that wasn’t fully supported in America. Some thought the game should not be played. The game itself literally meant nothing. (It’s Wayne Messmer singing, not that you’ll hear him).

Happy B-Day America!