A few weeks ago, on a Monday night, my husband, son, sister, and I were settled into our seats at the first Northwestern basketball game of the season.

Like at all sporting events, the whole stadium was invited to stand and listen to the National Anthem before tipoff.

I say invited to listen because I’ve realized, with growing frustration, that people no longer sing the National Anthem together. It has become a performance. A soloist steps up to showcase their vocal acrobatics while the rest of us stand silently, hands over hearts, listening.

First of all, I long for someone every once in a while to just sing the melody as written—no riffs, no runs.

But even more than that, I long for the crowd to sing. For all the voices gathered, imperfect and ordinary, to join together and sing OUR anthem—words that symbolize resilience, courage, and a shared hope for something … [continue reading...] about Why You Should Sing With Strangers