RANDBEMERKUNGEN

But now that I have some distance ... in my mind historically, when God's blessing is invoked by someone saying "God bless this" or "God bless that" it's an expression of humility and need combined with some amount of optimism about the outcome of their situation. But the way that I've seen it used more recently ("God Bless America") tends to express pride and a sense of superiority with the always underlying themes of manifest destiny. And I think that's bullshit. So yes, I do feel like it's hopeful.