Musical Patriotism

“Mr Smith Goes To Washington” (1939) stars Jimmy Stewart as Jefferson Smith, a naive junior senator who fights corruption in congress. The score for this film was written by award winning composer Dimtri Tiomkin whose film score credits also include Frank Capra’s “It’s a Wonderful Life” and “Lost Horizon.” Let’s hear his mix of some favorite patriotic tunes:

In my family we like our politics loud, preachy and opinionated. We frequently discuss the all the warts of our political system but we also treasure what is great about it. A trip to Washington DC is a necessary pilgrimage for us. With one thing and another I haven’t been there yet. Even though it’s a cheap and easy trip, I might just wait and see it for the first time with my daughter. We will likely wait a couple of years before our first trip because I think she’ll appreciate it more when she’s a touch older.

If that kid in the movie is any measure, my grandparents were right. Kids in the olden days actually were better! I can’t imagine my daughter standing in front of a giant Lincoln statue and having the focus and presence of mind to reverently read a plaque. In fact, based on previous conversations with her, I think the dialog would go something like this:

“Mommy! Our presivent was HUGE!”
“No dear, he was a normal sized man. They just made his statue big.”
“But Mom look at the size of his chair! His bottom must be gigantic!”
“We can’t see it but I imagine the statue’s bottom is pretty big.”
“But really he was regular size?”
“Yes.”
“That’s good because if he was a giant I would NOT want to see his poop!”

My princess ladies and gentlemen.