O beautiful for pilgrim feet,
Whose stern, impassioned stress
A thoroughfare for freedom beat
Across the wilderness!
America! America!
God mend thine every flaw,
Confirm thy soul in self-control,
Thy liberty in law!

* * *

I’m sick of seeing “250” everywhere. Sneakers, T-shirts, baseball caps, coffee mugs, jock straps (just kiddin’!)—and even wv.250.com (not kiddin’!).

And that’s not the worst of it. Benedict Arnold is leading the semiquincentennial parade. So what about this for a book title? 250 Ways to Leave America.

Or what about this from our new bestie ayatollah: 250 Ways America Sucks!

(Soon to be required reading at Columbia University.)

Or what about this? 250 Ways to Make America Better.

Now we’re talkin’.

Unlike the pompous “Make America Great Again,” “Make America Better” is unpretentious. We’re not great. Never were. At our best, we’re good.

Make America Better.

Look ahead, not back. Progress, not perfection! That’s good enough.

Full disclosure: I made up that book title, 250 Ways to Make America Better. Just to be sure, I googled it. AARGH. There’s already a book by that title published in 1999 by George magazine (JFK Jr., editor).

If you’re interested, it’s available on Amazon, but only in paperback. List price (no kiddin’!): $1,386.65. Fret not, it’s just $498.95 on eBay, with free shipping.

Fortunately, we don’t need that book. We already know a hundred different ways to make our country better. But it will take time.

Our nation is occupied. Collaborators flourish. Democracy is under siege.

Much has been marred, scarred, and destroyed in our beautiful country by the traitor in the White House. Our name has been disgraced. Our flag besmirched. Our anthem inglorious.

Our hearts are broken.

And to think our national anthem was written in a time like our own—the nation threatened, under attack, battered, and bombarded. But we stood tall, fought back, held on, our flag still waving.

OUR flag. Not his.

Today more than ever we need to salute OUR flag and sing OUR national anthem. Even while we mourn, we must reclaim what belongs to all of us. After all, a lot of good work can be done even with a broken heart.

Sing loud. It’s a big country.