O say can you see,

Oh, what I wish I could see when I looked out at the horizon,

Instead of a flag that symbolizes freedom and peace

I see a shredded carcass that symbolizes decay and destruction.

By the dawn’s early light,

Oh, what a society we live in,

That we value the perceived majority and the peculiar,

Over the suffering majority and the individual that truly needs help.

What so proudly we hail’d

Oh, what do we hail in this time of darkness;

Our country is on its knees, and unless a change comes soon

I fear the ring of liberty and the sound of freedom will never again grace our ears.

At the twilight’s last gleaming

Oh, what a hole we have dug for ourselves,

So what can we possibly do to dig ourselves out

Of this seemingly unending cycle of hate and destruction.

Whose broad stripes and bright stars

Oh, what changes could we make?

Maybe we could start by honoring those that truly strive to better this country,

By putting money back into our schools and giving power to the people.

Through the perilous fight,

Oh, maybe we could honor those that defend this country,

Laying down their lives for the ideals that make this country so great,

By raising their salaries and getting them the help they need when they come home wounded beyond our capability to understand.

O’er the ramparts we watch’d

Oh, perhaps we could stop patronizing the working class,

The people that support most of this country’s businesses by giving them tax breaks,

And allowing them to move up in the economy by funding businesses so they can create more of the jobs that are so desperately needed.

Were so gallantly streaming

Oh, maybe we should stop protecting the individual that claims to be offended,

And instead teach them to stand up for themselves;

Teach them to be confident and to respect others as generations before have been taught.

And the rocket’s red glare

Oh, perhaps we should stop going after the rights set aside by the forefathers of this country,

The very rights that separated us from the British Empire,

And have allowed these United States to remain free.

The bomb bursting in air,

Oh, maybe we should look inside before accusing others blindly,

Making an effort to understand their positions instead of resorting to hate speech

And name calling simply because we do not agree, spreading the hypocrisy.

Gave proof through the night

Oh, what else could we change?

Maybe stopping our tendencies to blindly follow the words and truths,

Those sorry, fickle lies that are spouted at us and thrown into our faces each day.

That our flag was still there,

Oh, maybe we can still save ourselves if we stop persecuting those who try to help,

And take those off of the proverbial pedestals that are only causing us more pain;

Those that wish to take this country out of its glory.

O say does that star-spangled banner yet wave?

Oh, I think I am beginning to see a light on the horizon,

Faint though it may be, it glows with the promise of a new day;

A new page turned for this country that so desperately needs a change.

O’er the land of the free

Oh, it burns brightly and begins to become stronger;

The promise of new leadership and a new direction makes us reflect on what we should be,

Seeing what troubled, decaying carcasses and remnants of the dream we have truly become.

And the home of the brave?

Oh, it’s coming nearer,

The promise of new, good things to come,

The promise of the return of what this country was always supposed to be,

Symbolized by the ever present star-spangled banner the floats above us as a reminder of what we should be.