The Fourth of July is nearly upon us, and I have been thinking a lot about patriotism. It doesn’t matter what side of the political fence you are on: there are enough lies, scandals, and deceits to make any American blush. So how do we cultivate patriotism, in ourselves and our children?

We go back to our roots.

Surprisingly, I am not going to talk about the Revolutionary War, which may seem strange (especially since George Washington is like my rockstar hero). Instead, I want to focus on something that is a part of most Fourth of July celebrations. Our national anthem, “The Star-Spangled Banner.”

I am a sentimental person. Just hearing our anthem brings tears to my eyes. But after asking around, I discovered that few people seem to know all the words. And even fewer know the story behind it. Many think of the song as merely the signal to the start of a baseball game, and then only listen to see whether the singer will be able to hit that famous high note or laughably blow it. But our song is so much more.

The words for our anthem came about in the War of 1812. It is a time that is little studied in history lessons, but was such a pivotal time for our nation. Imagine, if you will, living in a time when only 29 years earlier, we had signed a peace treaty with Great Britain and considered the war for our independence to be over. Then the British went to war with the French and needed more able bodies to crew their ships and fight their battles. They began to impress, or seize, American men by the thousands, forcingthem to join their navy. In light of this, and other altercations, America declared war.

Stand at attention as they play the National Anthem, and be grateful that while our flag still flies, there is always hope for the values that our country was first built on. Click To Tweet

In August of 1814, the skirmishes culminated in the British marching on Washington and burning several governmental buildings to the ground, including the Capitol and the White House. Let that soak in for a moment. Empathy is one of the greatest gifts we can give our children. Teach them to put themselves into others’ shoes, even if those shoes have buckles and are over 200 years old. Have them imagine what it would be like to have an enemy army march onto American soil today and burn our Capitol. What would they feel? Fear? Anger? The urge to fight back?

Well, the Americans of that day felt all of those things. And the next month, an American lawyer named Francis Scott Key found himself on a British war ship. He was there to negotiate the release of an American surgeon captured in battle. The British agreed to release the doctor. However, Key had seen the strength and position of the enemy forces while onboard, and he had also overheard their plan to attack Baltimore. The British could not risk releasing Key and having him warn his countrymen. So he was held, helpless, on board the ship while the British bombarded Fort McHenry for 25 hours.

Can you imagine seeing your own people fired upon while you were unable to do anything but watch? It was during these fraught, trying hours that the seeds of the lyrics for our national song were planted in Key’s brain. Fort McHenry flew a 30- by 40-foot flag that Frances Scott Key and the surgeon kept their eyes fixed upon for all those hours, knowing that if it was hauled down, the fort had fallen. This same flag is now displayed in the Smithsonian Museum in Washington, D.C.

Key would later write:

“Oh, say, can you see, by the dawn’s early light,
What so proudly we hail’d at the twilight’s last gleaming?
Whose broad stripes and bright stars, thro’ the perilous fight,
O’er the ramparts we watch’d, were so gallantly streaming?”

Through the night, the only light was from bombs exploding and the new cannonballs that the fighting men called “rockets.” In those brief moments of illumination, Key was able to reassure himself of the flag’s presence.

“And the rockets’ red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof thro’ 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?”

I cannot fathom Key’s relief when morning came, the flag remained aloft, and the British gave up on their plan to capture the fort. Frances Scott Key and his friend were allowed to go, and Key later penned the words to a song that would capture our nation’s heart.

So this year, tell your kids a little about their country’s history. Have them use their imaginations to understand what it would have been like in a time when our country’s freedom was once again threatened, so soon after winning independence. Take them to see a fireworks display and remind them that the bright flashes in the sky are symbols of the bombs that helped Key to glimpse the flag of his homeland. Stand at attention as they play the National Anthem, and be grateful that while our flag still flies, there is always hope for the values that our country was first built on. And if you’ve never heard it, read the last verse of our anthem below.

“O thus be it ever when freemen shall stand
Between their lov’d home and the war’s desolation!
Blest with vict’ry and peace may the heav’n rescued land
Praise the power that hath made and preserv’d 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.”

If that doesn’t make your chest swell with pride, I don’t know what will.

God bless America!