The House I Live In and Ballad for Americans by Paul Robeson

I think both of these songs are very appropriate for September 11. I am a native New Yorker and I was here on September 11, 2001. I was not affected directly in that I did not lose a family member, but the entire world has indeed been affected by the actions of those 19 men on those planes. Some may say I have no right to criticize the reactions of people who lost relatives on that day, but many are forgetting what our country really is about. I have been disturbed by the protests of relatives of the victims over the mosque and Muslim cultural center proposed near Ground Zero, and the general lack of tolerance for anyone that disagrees with them and their ideas. More universally, the country has moved towards an insular,nationalistic, undemocratic and intolerant ideological mood that undermines what the United States truly represents. These two songs by Robeson, who was persecuted by our government for exercising his right to free speech, and blacklisted by Hollywood because of his Socialist beliefs, are two of the most patriotic songs I have ever heard. They are beautiful because our country and the sincere attempts to build a more perfect union by our pluralistic, multicultural and tolerant founding principles are beautiful.

Zeneida Disla