If we teach and reinforce battle as the foundational idea of our country on an ongoing basis, then we identify life in our nation to ourselves and others as little more than constant strife.
We pledge allegiance to battle through repeated singing of the war anthem along with reciting the pledge of allegiance to country. In the lifelong repetition of this type of civic oath we forget and neglect allegiance to the peaceful life as a nation that we were, and are, hoping to create, maintain, and protect. We fund war first; even to the point of intentionally decreasing or denying a minimal standard of living for our own people and others.
It's time to change our national anthem from a war song to a story song which expresses our goals, appreciation, and responsibilities as American people.