Is confession of America’s national sins an un-American activity? Is it unpatriotic? I doubt it. If we seriously want God to bless America, don’t we have to ask him to do that on his terms, not ours?
God's terms are humility and honesty, not pride and pretense. If we understand God’s terms and if we realize that Jesus has recruited us individually to participate in his global cause, we Christians who are also Americans cannot gloss over the sins that are part of American history and culture when we ask him to bless our nation.
At the end of this blog is a poem I wrote as my personal cry for America in our present conflicted state. I am crying from the middle of the political spectrum, deeply disappointed and alienated by both ends of it, that is, the non-Christian left and the pseudo-Christian right.
My impression is that many people, because of their authentic loyalty to Jesus, are as frustrated as I am with those current political options, but they are mostly keeping quiet because they do not know what they can say without making things worse. My prayer is that a “Patriotic Confession” will supply them with words they can use to make things better.
These words admit that our national sins need to be removed by the blood of Christ, not hidden under patriotic whitewash. The confession in my poem tries to be balanced—one trademark sin of the left, one of the right, and several equal opportunity sins—but my advisers warned me that readers will not see it that way. Readers will see it as being lopsidedly against whichever point of view they personally hold.
BTW, if the poetic references to the Statue, the Wall, and the broken treaties are too enigmatic, the Statue of Liberty rolls out the red carpet for poor immigrants: “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.” By contrast, the Wall on our southern border hangs out the “No Vacancy” sign. The “broken treaties” on the walls of our national history refer to our treatment of the many peoples whose lands we took over, pretending we were destined to do so.
In our polarized situation in 2024, the risk for me and for anyone who favorably shares or quotes from this confessional poem is contemptuous rejection by the right and the left. Why risk that? Why not stay quiet and hope for the best? Because speaking up in this way from the middle is the right thing to do. Those who authentically follow Jesus must do the right thing even if we get crucified for it.
I also have a more specific hope. I am praying that God will prompt a songwriter who likes the poem to turn it into a song with humbly patriotic music (whatever that is) and an easy melody, something any congregation could sing. In fact, to help spread the message I’ll offer a 50/50 split of production costs if someone supplies a tune I like and my worship arts adviser approves as worthy.
In case the poem sounds anti-American to anyone, my reply is that I’m proud to be an American. By that I mean I’m proud to be a citizen of a country that allows ordinary small-town people like me to confess national sins and to put Jesus above country in a blog post on the Internet. I would not risk that in China, Russia, North Korea, and many other countries. In America I will. God bless the USA. Seriously.
Patriotic Confession
by Stan Nussbaum
From Maine to California
And from sea to shining sea
Come Spirit bring us new life
May your grace and peace flow free
Our high ideals are all in tatters
And blood is on our hands
Lord from ourselves please free us
And heal our angry land
Yes it’s time to be an American
And to follow Jesus Christ
Let us not forget the man who died
To set all nations right
So we sadly bow down at your feet
And with one heart we pray
Lord have mercy on this land
God bless the USA
How freedom tramples justice
As we demand the right
To cut lives off like fingernails
Out of mind and out of sight
In God We Trust declares our money
But how that money lies
We trust ourselves and our dollars
And hope you'll take our side
And it’s hard to be an American
And to follow Jesus Christ
But I won’t forget the man who died
To set all nations right
And I’ll humbly bow down at his feet
And penitently pray
Lord have mercy on this land
God bless the USA
The Statue’s fallen silent
The Wall proclaims our fear
Our boasts get old like whitewash
We hear what we want to hear
But broken treaties deck the walls
Of history to our shame
The more our racism changes
The more it stays the same
Oh it’s hard to be an American
And to follow Jesus Christ
But I won’t forget the man who died
To set all nations right
And I’ll humbly bow down at his feet
And penitently pray
Lord have mercy on this land
God bless the USA
Yes we gladly bow down at your feet
And with one heart we pray
Lord have mercy on this land
God bless the USA
God bless the USA
God bless the USA
Copyright © Stan Nussbaum, 2024
Update on January 20, 2025: Prayers answered; songwriter providentially provided! Now I know what "humbly patriotic music" sounds like. https://stuartbrownmusic.com/patriotic-confession.html
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