Jerusalem is the unofficial national anthem of England (God Save the Queen covers the whole United Kingdom). The Star Spangled Banner pays tribute to our flag, which is a symbol of our nation’s values (both the positive and the negative). The song talks about how strong our flag was during a battle in which it continued waving even though there was so much carnage in the field it was in.

Yes, that’s a nice thought. Don’t get me wrong, I’m just as excited as the next guy that some explosion didn’t cause our flag to fall during that battle when Francis Scott Key wrote the Star Spangled Banner, but I am more intrigued by the concept the Jerusalem presents.

You see, the poem above is a goal. It’s a vision. It’s something that the people of England can work toward every day. When Blake considered that what he was trying to do was create Jerusalem in England, he was essentially saying he wanted to create the City of God in England.

So I challenge you with this question: What would the City of God look like? Would there be poor or homeless people living without dignity? Would there be wealthy businessmen exploiting the masses? Would politics and antiquated religious doctrine impede progress and dignity for all people? Would children be judged as bad or as “left behind” because their strengths do not lie in academics? Would people die in agony because they cannot afford pain medication for lack of health insurance? Would a government torture, kill, or persecute its own people for their religious views? For their sexual orientations? For their political opinions? Would the people quibble over unimportant issues? Would people even worry about unimportant issues?

To create the City of God is a beautiful concept. As much as I like the Star Spangled Banner part of me wishes Key had written a poem about something that we as Americans can aspire to throughout life. A poem that challenges us to always be better than we were before. A poem that demands the best of us and that inspires us to treat everyone with dignity no matter how much we disagree with them.

There are many issues in our country that are important and that do challenge us every day. We constantly struggle to decide whose dignity we must protect: a baby’s or a mother’s, a business’s or an employee’s, a traditional family’s or an alternative family’s, etc. We may never be able to completely agree on these issues, but the challenge that Jerusalem presents always puts some perspective in our lives and gives us a chance to understand, at least on some level, that we’re all aiming toward the same goal even if we define it differently.