As you read this on Sunday, Independence Day is already over. The fireworks are gone from the skies although some near our neighborhood have set off fireworks early and late. This year there are limited community fireworks (always the safest option). I remember a 4th of July sitting on the grass on the National Mall with family and friends among a crowd of thousands. The fireworks were beautiful and the evening ended with the orchestra playing the 1812 Overture with fireworks and cannons punctuating the music. I do like the color and pageantry. The pyrotechnics are amazing. It does give me pause when I remember that Francis Scott Keyes line in our national anthem, “and the rockets red glare, the bombs bursting in air…” was not in the context of a 4th of July celebration but rather a battle during a war. Our country, perhaps too easily, romanticizes war forgetting its pain. I sometimes wonder if our nation’s psyche would be different if we had chosen America the Beautiful or My Country ‘Tis of Thee Sweet Land of Liberty rather than the Star Spangled Banner. Still I am going to enjoy the fireworks and think of the US whenever the National Anthem is played, but my desire for peace raises the question in my mind.