Lots of kids want to grow up to be president. Then one day, they realize that being president is probably the worst job ever. The second you’re elected, you’re hated,  despised, and abhorred by millions of people. Then, if anything bad happens – anything – in the next four years, it’s all your fault.***

So I will salute those people who held this very difficult office with a march by John Philip Sousa – “The Gladiator“, because of the bloody arena of politics and the wounds and stress that come with having this job.

An interesting side note – Before writing this, Sousa had only written a few marches, and these were unpopular. He was actually pursuing a compositional career in operettas – light operas that were the precursor to the modern musical. “The Gladiator” became a huge hit and within ten years, he had written all his best-known marches; his place as the master-of-marches was established.

***And for the record, if a meteor carrying zombie ninja Nazi dinosaurs armed with laser crossbows and death rays fell to earth and conquered humankind, it’s all Obama’s fault!