THE REVERE ADVOCATE – FRIDAY, JULY 11, 2025 Page 7 ~ GUEST COMMENTARY ~ “God Done Shed His Grace on Thee” By Sal Giarratani W hen Ray Charles sang “God done shed his grace on thee,” he acknowledged this country was blessed from the start. He never sang that America was perfect. If we do not know by now that we are a work in progress, we only need to read our history. Our aspirations, our goals were expressed clearly but when it came to putting actions with those words, we too often came up and continue to come up short. However, we somehow always and eventually do learn from past mistakes and improve. Sometimes the road to correction seems far too long. For every correction made another one is needed. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, AMERICA, WE MADE ANOTHER YEAR BUT IT WASNT EASY. love listening to the version of “America the Beautiful” sung by Ray Charles. I always loved this song because anyone can sing it. One does not have to be the greatest singer in the world to give it justice. Ray Charles’ rendition was heard through that period of pain following the attacks of September 11, 2001. I heard it for the fi rst time at the 2001 World Series and, yes, it didn’t sound the same as before when sung by many others. This was not Katherine Lee Bates’ version. This was a version fi lled with agony, the agony we were all feeling at the time nearly 24 years ago today. It has now become the only version I want to hear. Today, this country is living through some diffi cult times. I have not seen such division since my college days back in the 60s and 70s when the country was being torn apart. Looking back now, those college days of mine seem like good ole days compared to the divisiveness and hate spreading across this land of ours today, pitting everyone against everyone else. It was a diff erent America we witness today than Katherine Lee Bates did; it is even a diff erent America than Ray Charles saw. Are we better? Are we worse? It is diffi cult to tell. I am sure when my parents brought me (1948) and my brother (1950) into this world, they envisioned a far better world for us than they had experienced. All parents want their children to see better days than them. Better opportunities, better everything. America is beautiful but that is not to say it is perfect. Far from that. My parents lived through two world wars and a Great Depression. As a baby boomer I lived through much, too. We all have experienced many good times, but the bad times always feel close by. I am not a pessimist, but I can say it is sometimes very difficult to be an optimist, too. At some point, our jobs living on this planet are to survive the craziness that keeps popping up. As for now, it is almost the Fourth of July so I will take my leave to enjoy what is positive about America. I will celebrate by watching fi reworks, watching parades and eating lots of barbecue. I might even watch my sugar a bit less for a couple of days, too. I will see my daughter and my two grandkids as a sign of hope for our nation’s future. I had hoped for more at this junction of my life, but I am quite satisfi ed with what God has blessed upon me. And as Ray Charles sang, God has done blessed us with so much, too, right? SABATINO/MASTROCOLA INSURANCE AGENCY 519 BROADWAY EVERETT, MA 02149 Auto * Home * Boat * Renter * Condo * Life * Multi-Policy Discounts * Commercial 10% Discounts * Registry Service Also Available Sabatino Insurance is proud to welo welcome the loyal customers of tino Insur nce is p yal customers of ALWAYS READY TO SERVE YOU: Our Staff are, Emma Davidson, Jeimy Sanchez, Josephine Leone, Marie D’Amore, Rocco Longo, Z’andre Lopez, Anthony DiPierro, Darius Goudreau, Laurette Murphy, Danielle Goudreau and Tina Davidson. PHONE: (617) 387-7466 FAX: (617) 381-9186 Visit us online at: WWW.SABATINO-INS.COM co
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