The 30 Day Music Challenge continues.

I’ve looked at other blogs where the writers just name the song. They do not give any explanation or talk about it at all. Others, like me, try to explain why the song is relevant to the day’s topic. Still more, including me again, hope to learn more about themselves by doing this.

However, this exercise has happened at about the same time in my life where I’ve decided not to explain myself to others, so it’s been strange for me. I want to stop defending myself and my feelings and ideas, yet here I am, participating in an activity that promotes explanation and exploration.

Yet, this is the place where I want to explain myself. My blog is the place where I hope people will get to know me better and understand why I am who I am. So I’m not about to just make a list of unrelated songs and post them here.

I realize that not a lot of people are going to read this. Who really wants to wade through pages and pages of ramblings of someone they don’t know. So I really need to find a common thread to all of this. At least then, I’d be able to post some ads and sell something, right?

Okay, enough stalling. I’ve gone on rambling this long because I know that today’s song and the reasons for my posting it under today’s topic may possibly cause an uproar.

If you know me, you know I will go to that place – the place where few are brave enough to go. As a hermit, and a philosopher, I travel to areas many fear, that many feel are taboo. But again, if you know me, you know that I am honest and try to base everything on truth, and much of my life has been about trying to figure out the truth.

As a child, I was very religious. Going to Catholic school for 13 years probably helped support that devotion. There were times when I thought I would become a priest, and I even won the Religion Award at my eight grade graduation and earned a religion medal in the scouts.

It wasn’t as if I was a fanatic, though. I wasn’t just a Catholic, I was a Christian. My sister and brother and friends attended Vacation Bible School at a Presbyterian Church. My boy scout troop held its meetings at a Methodist Church. I had Jewish relatives. So I had a chance to see other denominations and religions and had no hatred or bad feelings about any of them.

Hmmm, perhaps I am still stalling.

The point of all this is that I am no longer a child, and I am no longer religious. I am now an atheist and have been since about the age of 20 or 21.

So how does this relate to the music challenge?

Well, the change in philosophy and mind set would naturally create a change in the music I enjoy. I do still love a lot of hymns. Many religious songs still bring me a feeling of peace, simply because they are written to do that.

But the song I mention today also involves what I call fanatical patriotism, which I mentioned on my July 4th blog. Let me be clear. I don’t mind patriotism. I like to think I still have a touch of love for my country.

I also don’t mind someone who believes in God and has faith. But to carry either to an extreme or to feel either strongly, but blindly, without ever having questioned why one does, to me, is a terrible thing. And then, to go on and sing a song with such strong emotion and conviction, thinking that nothing is stronger or more right, bothers me.

Of course, I’ve never felt the need to go with the crowd. I don’t feel that group mentality that takes over during things like religious ceremonies or sporting events. It is a part of being a hermit.

Are you still reading? Boy, you are determined.

Okay, so the song I’ve picked for today’s topic – A song I use to love but now hate – is “God Bless America.”

No matter how you feel about this, leave a comment. Let’s open a dialogue. I doubt most will. It’s one of those taboo areas.