When I was growing up in Israel, we learned songs in school. The words in the songs were about the beauty of the local flowers, hills, fruits, and sun. The songs were always about peace and our wish for peace. Many favorite songs included typical Israeli activities that everyone can identify with, like eating watermelon around a camp fire. Every Israeli knows these songs, and it helps to create a sense of unity, familiarity, and strong emotional ties to each other and to the land.
Unfortunately for Americans, the only common memories revolve around sports. I want to create a movement in which all schools teach children in America typical American songs. And modeled after Israel’s “public singing” pastime, Americans need to have frequent family nights in which children and adults sit in their local schools just so they can sing typical patriotic American songs together.
This will help create a sense of unity and warmth that is deeper than the (sorry to call it) superficial bond over sports. And I’m not trying to take sports away. Just add to it.
I also want Oprah or the next Oprah to have shows on television in which songs and the words play at the bottom for all to read. This is a common favorite practice in Israel. Families and friends can sit together to sing. Sports is not the only way to bring people together. Music is very good at that, too.
If someone does not start this movement before I’ll start to arrange it in my local community, then I will get to it at some point in my life.
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