I love America.

I love the mountains where I can ski in the winter. I love the white sand beaches of Florida, the emerald water, the way it looks unreal until you are standing in it. I love sunsets stretching across the rolling hills of the Midwest. I love the colors of the American Southwest, the strange and beautiful rock formations rising from the desert.

I love the bustle and glow of big cities, the noise, the near chaos. I love small town kindness and familiarity. I love the hamlets tucked into the Great Smoky Mountains. I love the salty fishing villages along the Great Lakes and our shores. I love the creative energy found in cities where ocean air meets mountain wilderness.

I love the diversity of people and the subcultures they build. I love the food. Mexican. Chinese. Southern home cooking. Atlantic lobster rolls. Oh, how I love those lobster rolls.

I love America.

What I do not love is our National Anthem.

A song meant to celebrate the goodness and beauty of our country is instead centered on a single battle in a single war, one that left hundreds dead. It does not honor our land. It does not speak to our people. It does not reflect the lived experience of most Americans. The Revolutionary War was a critical moment in our history and should be taught, remembered, and respected. But it is not the defining characteristic of our culture.

I believe deeply that our servicemen and servicewomen deserve respect for risking everything in service to the country. We should acknowledge sacrifice without glorifying war.

At sporting events, we pause to retell a story of military conquest and might, often culminating in the flyover of a billion dollar death machine.

I think the American people deserve better.

We deserve a song that celebrates what makes this place what it is. Its beauty. Its contradictions. Its people. Its cultures. Its possibility.

I love America.

I just think we can sing about it better.