The Star Spangled Banner is heard every day in America. If hearing the national anthem inspires the virtues which this Nation once stood for then it cannot be over played, but how often do people reflect on the words? 

It should be understood that Francis Scott Key wrote the Star Spangled Banner as a poem. 
The proper medium of poetry is the human voice. Poems are meant to be spoken, not necessarily sung. 
I ask you to read it aloud, in prose, and listen carefully to what you are saying. 

America was born in gunfire, bloodshed, and revolution. 
The words make is clear that there was no certainty of the future of this Nation. The banner brave men united behind, seen in flashes of fire from enemy bombardment, hung then in tumultuous wind; as it does today.  
But these men yet fought, without knowing what would befall their struggle, because they believed in something beyond themselves. 

All my life I absorbed the propaganda that taught me to hate my country, hate my history, hate my nation and hate myself, while demanding I stand against hate. I never identified as an American. A string of consumer identities replaced each other as I searched for the identity that had been taken from me. It wasn’t until I began to resist the indoctrination that I found an identity that was real. 
It wasn’t until I left an easy life, within the rules of domesticated modern convention, that I had a life that I loved. 
It wasn’t until I began to fight against tyranny that I became an American. 

America is bequeathed to its posterity. Men and women who took risks, shouldered tremendous burdens, began monumental endeavors knowing they would never bear fruit in their lifetimes. Brave souls who dreamt of better futures for their children. Men who fought, not for the freedom to do what he wants, but for the right to do what one aught. 
Zealots. Warriors. Explorers. Pioneers. Builders. Inventors. Visionaries. Radicals. 
Revolutionaries. 

The National Anthem asks a question. Does that banner yet wave over the land of the free, and the home of the brave?

Today, let us answer.

Adolf
Ink on archival paper
7” x 9”

It has been a long day. I have done much and there is still much to do. This is really just a sketch and not as grand a piece as I’d hoped to debut but its all I had the time to do recently.

I wish I could devote all my time to making art.
So did Adolf.
But we have work to do.
Labor for our cause tirelessly.

“Come what may, clench one’s teeth, keep a clear head and march forward.”

HH

Maltese Cross
Hand painted faux marble acrylic finish on reclaimed wood.
15” x 15”

In 1565 the Order of the Knights Hospitaler defended the Island of Malta from a muslim Turk invasion. Outnumbered by more than six to one the Christian knights held the island for four months before reinforcements arrived to repel the invading fleet.

In that moment the course of history was altered and the future of Christendom, all Europe and Western Civilization itself, against impossible odds, was saved thanks to the unerring bravery, determination and faith of those Christian warriors. The Maltese Cross has become of symbol of such bravery, determination and faith across the Western world.

Today the West is rediscovering its identity and rousing from the slumber of generations of cultural poisoning. The spirit of the Maltese Cross is once again inspiring the warriors of the West to stand strong against invasion, to defend their homelands, and vanquish evil in all forms.