Randomly searching through my collection of mp3 songs, I saw a title that I had not heard in a very long time. “Over There” by Billy Murray was popular during WWI. I was surprised by the unabashed patriotism and optimism of the song.
I am mentally scanning the pop songs of U.S.A. wars of other times and places. The War of Independence had “Yankee Doodle.” The Civil War North had “The Battle Cry of Freedom” and “The Battle Hymn of the Republic.” WWII had “Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition.” Sure, I can research the list and find sad songs of the same periods, and I can argue the point that pop songs and pop movies were created for propaganda purposes to motivate the public to support war, but what strikes me now is the outstanding popularity of these upbeat, positive war songs through almost two centuries.
I am now thinking backward from today. We have been at war since 2001. I can think of no patriotic, much less optimistic, war songs for this contemporary period. The VietNam Conflict of the 1960s, now referred to as the VietNam War, produced powerful protest songs against the war, but I recall not one patriotic war song. Ditto for the Korean Conflict of the 1950s, now referred to as the Korean War.
Yes, we have entered a new age and the sands are shifting under our steps, but the silence surrounding our warriors today is disturbing. Perhaps, this silence and emotional detachment is a necessary prelude to the advent of robotic soldiers. They certainly will not benefit from patriotic songs.
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