American+Pride-

 American Pride

 I Hear America Singing   I hear America singing, the varied carols I hear, Those of mechanics, each one singing his as it should be blithe and strong, The carpenter singing his as he measures his plank or beam, The mason singing his as he makes ready for work, or leaves off work, The boatman singing what belongs to him in his boat, the deckhand singing on the steamboat deck, The shoemaker singing as he sits on his bench, the hatter singing as he stands, The wood-cutter's song, the ploughboy's on his way in the morning, or at noon intermission or at sundown, The delicious singing of the mother, or of the young wife at work, or of the girl sewing or washing, Each singing what belongs to him or her and to none else, The day what belongs to the day--at night the party of young fellows, robust, friendly, Singing with open mouths their strong melodious songs.

-Walt Whitman





**America**

Although she feeds me bread of bitterness, And sinks into my throat her tiger's tooth, Stealing my breath of life, I will confess I love this cultured hell that tests my youth! Her vigor flows like tides into my blood, Giving me strength erect against her hate. Her bigness sweeps my being like a flood. Yet as a rebel fronts a king in state, I stand within her walls with not a shred Of terror, malice, not a word of jeer. Darkly I gaze into the days ahead, And see her might and granite wonders there, Beneath the touch of Time's unerring hand, Like priceless treasures sinking in the sand.

-Claude McKay

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"I see America, not in the setting sun of a black night of despair ahead of us, I see America in the crimson light of a rising sun fresh from the burning, creative hand of God. I see great days ahead, great days possible to men and women of will and vision." -Carl Sandburg  

"Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country." -John F. Kennedy



 My country, 'tis of thee, Sweet land of liberty Of thee I sing; Land where my fathers died, Land of the pilgrims' pride, From every mountain side Let freedom ring. Let music swell the breeze, And ring from all the trees Sweet freedom's song; Let mortal tongues awake; Let all that breathe partake; Let rocks their silence break, The sound prolong. Our fathers' God to Thee, Author of liberty, To thee we sing, Long may our land be bright With freedom's holy light, Protect us by they might Great God, our King.
 * Samuel F. Smith**

 O beautiful for spacious skies, For amber waves of grain, For purple mountain majesties About the fruited plain! America! America! God shed His grace on thee And crown thy good with brotherhood From sea to shining sea! O beautiful for patriot dream That sees beyond the years Thine alabaster cities gleam Undimmed by human tears! America! America! God shed His grace on thee And crown thy good with brotherhood From sea to shining sea!
 * Words by Katharine Lee Bates**

** by Francis Scott Key** O! say can you see by the dawn's early light, What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming, Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight, O'er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming? And the Rockets' red glare, the Bombs bursting in air, Gave proof through the night that our Flag was still there;

O! say does that star-spangled Banner yet wave, O'er the Land of the free, and the home of the brave?

On the shore dimly seen through the mists of the deep, Where the foe's haughty host in dread silence reposes, What is that which the breeze, o'er the towering steep, As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses? Now it catches the gleam of the morning's first beam, In full glory reflected now shines in the stream,

Tis the star-spangled banner, O! long may it wave, O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.

And where is that band who so vauntingly swore That the havoc of war and the battle's confusion, A home and a country, shall leave us no more? Their blood has washed out their foul footsteps pollution. No refuge could save the hireling and slave, From the terror of fight or the gloom of the grave,

And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave, O'er the Land of the Free, and the home of the Brave.

O! thus be it ever when freemen shall stand, Between their loved home, and the war's desolation, blest with victory and peace, may the Heav'n rescued land, Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation! Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just, And this be our motto - "In God is our Trust;"

And the star-spangled Banner in triumph shall wave, O'er the Land of the Free, and the Home of the Brave.


 * //Some Americans feel so strongly for their country that they will do anything to honor it...
 * WARNING*---this video may be offensive to some, it is an extreme example of the patriotism within this country and the behavior in this video is no way tolerated, the video is used mainly to show American pride//**

media type="youtube" key="6DVRSsNJ6ac" width="425" height="350"  .....some people feel very strongly for their country they go at extreme lengths to express it

Reflection on American Pride-