Battle Hymn of the Republic

Welcome back to Tea with Liya! Today, I'm playing a hymn called "Battle Hymn of the Republic." Even though it was written during the American Civil War, it is still sung by various armies and churches today. It connected the judgment of God to the freedom from slavery which the Union soldiers hoped to achieve. I hope you like listening to it!


Listen to the song here
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If it's any relief to say that worse things have happened than COVID, I'm sure that being enslaved for generations would be one of those things. It seems like new news about COVID is always appearing, to the point where it might not even be new anymore (since it's always happening). Things seem to be getting worse and worse. You might even start to think that there is no hope.

You would probably be more likely to think that if all of your ancestors had been slaves and you were one, too. Freedom might seem like something that you were simply born to not have. You didn't get that privilege.

Eventually, however, people began to realize that this wasn't the truth. A system in which certain people never got to have freedom was an unjust system. They were going to change something, and they would start a war if that was what it took. 

Instead of complaining about the situation, they took steps to make it better, and even though lives were sacrificed because of that, more lives were changed for the better, both then and in the future.

Because the abolitionists held onto hope, they were able to provide freedom for the slaves that could have been left with none. 

So what happens when we have something like COVID? Do we lose hope that the situation could be turned around - or do we start trying to make our own lives better, so we have less things to complain about? The pandemic could actually be an opportunity that gives us more time. 

If holding onto hope can win someone their freedom, then I'd say that it's better to choose the second one. Maybe someone will have to say something before the pandemic starts to change. Or maybe we'll have to start finding ways to move on with our lives. If we keep thinking that nothing will ever change, then nothing will change, because we're not changing anything.

You can't do the same thing over and over again and expect different results.

 

Keep filling your teacup with music!
~Liya