Oh, how we miss the Boston Pops, and other musings

Ordinarily, most columns about national holidays would be presented to readers before, or maybe even on, the holiday. Lots of good writers do that, so there must be something right about such a sequence of events.

But, here I am, a so-so writer at best. If I were a good writer, I wouldn't be so willing to bend the established protocol for wordsmiths. Not being a good writer does have its advantages.

This column is about Independence Day. The Fourth of July. Our nation's birthday. The holiday when we celebrate telling off a king and rubbing his nose in it just a little bit.

Let's party!

No, wait, we did that Tuesday. Thousands and thousands of dollars worth of make-believe rockets with red glare and bombs bursting in air went up in smoke. Noisily.

My wife and I observed the Fourth of July festivities Tuesday night the way many Americans did. We watched, on PBS, the celebration in Washington. We've done that for nearly 40 years.

Oh, how we miss the Boston Pops.

Remember the Boston Pops? They're still around, but PBS, in its wisdom, decided at some point that a truly representative party celebrating the birth of a diverse nation should be expressed through a more varied musical collage, which is why we heard patriotic songs in the style of blues, Motown, gospel, country, Broadway and rock.

Quite frankly, I wouldn't have thought of a gospel rendition of "The Battle Hymn of the Republic," but, by golly, it worked. Beautifully.

The Blues Brothers were a blast from the past. Dan Aykroyd and Jim Belushi mirrored a large segment of the PBS audience. Like me, they are getting old. Really old.

Oh, how we miss the Boston Pops.

I've told you before that I get misty-eyed whenever I hear our national anthem. Truth be told, I get just as emotional listening to just about any patriotic song. Most of all, patriotic songs remind me of the sacrifices made by so many on my behalf over the nearly two centuries and a half of this experiment in democracy.

I am wary -- musically -- of modern vocal artists who are picked to sing our nation's most meaningful patriotic songs based on their fan index rather than their musical abilities. They tend to improvise a lot, often to cover up the limits of their vocal cords.

Oh, how we miss the Boston Pops.

In its own way, an event like the celebration Tuesday on the Washington Mall can unite Americans of differing viewpoints at a time when our nation seems so polarized. It is an hour or two of common accord, a shining example of how to behave -- and for what reasons -- the rest of the year when we aren't blowing up gobs of gunpowder.

The future of our country does not rest on the belief that we all must agree on every topic. I do believe, however, that we must all -- or as many as possible -- agree to exchange our varying ideas and listen patiently to views with which we disagree.

Just like the lineup for the Fourth of July celebration on PBS. I would pick an entirely different group of performers. (I would, by the way, keep the gospel diva. Just about everything sounds better when presented by a powerful gospel singer.)

There must be a good reason why, in the wisdom of those in authority, I am not in charge of choosing the musical performers for the big PBS production for Independence Day. Just like there must be a good reason why I'm just a so-so writer, not a great one.

Oh, how we miss the Boston Pops.

Joe Sullivan is the retired editor of the Southeast Missourian.