I admit to being one of those Americans whose eyes well up during the playing of the Star-Spangled Banner. Our nations extant troubles aside, the opening drum roll and the rising crescendo of our anthem transcends the divisions and polarizations that will always be there in our country, a benefit of our unbridled freedom of speech.
On Tuesday, the New York Philharmonic on an invited tour to North Korea (one member of the Axis of Evil), belted out the Star-Spangled Banner after first playing the host country's anthem. It may be minuscule in terms of the detente we hope for with this rogue country, but it made me proud to hear that our orchestral ambassadors were not the least bit afraid to display the flag and show our musical colors.
