One of the most stirring moments for me during the Inauguration of President Biden and Vice President Harris came during the singing of The Star Spangled Banner by Lady Gaga.

When she sang the line “our flag was still there”, the video gave us a view of the multitude of Star Spangled Banners arrayed across the Mall.

In a normal Inauguration, the Mall would have been overflowing with enthusiastic supporters of the new President. But because of the Pandemic, there were no such multitudes of people.

Instead, “we the people” were represented by the “broad stripes and bright stars” of the host of flags overflowing on the Mall.

I grew misty-eyed with joy at seeing so many Star Spangled Banners waving yet “o’er the land of the free and the home of the brave”.

These flags were still flying after the four years of our nonviolent, perilous fight to preserve Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness, culminating in the forceful defense of the Capitol from the mob that violently attacked the Congress to bully, intimidate and disrupt the finalization of the presidential election.

Once again, as before in our history, the brave defenders of “we the people” bravely fought and nobly triumphed over those who fought for a government of the pharaohs, by the pharaohs, and for the pharaohs.

Once again, as after the Battle of Gettysburg, we dedicate ourselves anew “to the great task remaining before us”—“that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom—and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.” (the Gettysburg Address by Abraham Lincoln).

As I viewed the Mall overflowing with Star Spangled Banners and as Lincoln gazed upon us from the Lincoln Memorial, cheering us on, I thought of my blogs (and the related passages in my book Visions of America) that describe other times when the Star Spangled Banner led the way in establishing liberty and justice for all:

—the raising of the Star Spangled Banner on Iwo Jima;

—the raising of the Star Spangled Banner on the Moon; and

—the raising of the Star Spangled Banner after 9/11.

The words that I wrote in Visions of America after September 11, 2001 are still true today, after the assault on the Capitol and the Congress on January 6, 2021:

“Once again we’ve learned the hard lesson that despite our many past triumphs, we have only just begun to raise our Star Spangled Banner. To establish the work of our hands, we must raise our Star Spangled Banner and lift the Torch of Liberty towards the heavens, despite the fact that our visions of America are not yet firmly planted in the earth.

Because even though the battle of the Cold War is won, the war against Sin is far from over:

—The war against all who are racists.

—The war against all who start wars.

—The war against all who persecute others.

—The war against all who love to hate.

America has come far. But America has much further to go.

We’ve only just begun to travel toward that Promised Land where all people will be blessed. We’ve only just begun to challenge the Pharaohs who refuse to let people be free. We’ve only just begun to sacrifice ourselves to help others.

Fortunately, our faith keeps us going no matter how bleak our lives may become. By hoping in the LORD, we find the faith to believe that the visions of Abraham, Moses and Jesus will be fulfilled, despite the fact that their visions of America are not yet firmly planted in the earth. By lighting the world with these visions of America, we show our faith that Humanity “shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.” (Habakkuk 2:2-4,14, KJV):

“And the LORD . . . said, ‘Write the vision, and make it plain . . . [A]t the end [the vision] shall speak, and not lie; though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry. [T]he just shall live by his faith. . . . For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.’” (Habakkuk 2:2-4,14, KJV).”

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To highlight the differences between the ideal America discovered in the hearts of Abraham, Moses and Jesus with the actual historical United States which so often strays from these ideals, please read my blogs “The ‘United States’ Compared to ‘America’”, “Racism Is America Gone Astray”, and “The 500-Year Marathon To Overcome Racism”

To understand the dangers of nationalism, please read my blog “Nationalism Is Patriotism Gone Astray”.

To learn more about times when the Star Spangled Banner led the way in establishing liberty and justice for all, please read my blogs “Raising the Star Spangled Banner—FDR and Churchill”, “Raising the Star Spangled Banner—Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin”, and “Raising the Star Spangled Banner—Americans”, and the related passages in my book Visions of America (published together with my book Visions of the Church).