The Chicks A Reason To Smile Dan Rather and Team Steady Sep 1 Credit: Getty Images The final night of the Democratic National Convention ended with Kamala Harris’s spot-on acceptance speech and began with The Chicks performing an a cappella rendition of our national anthem that gave me goosebumps. It is not every day I hear a new version of “The Star-Spangled Banner,” especially a version by one of my favorite groups. The Chicks are this week’s reason to smile. That performance got me thinking about this stellar group, who happen to be the biggest selling female group of all time. The Chicks famously dropped “Dixie” from their name in 2020 because of the word’s connection to the U.S. Confederacy. The country music trio has a history of being politically outspoken, in an industry that tends to shy away from controversy. One of my favorite songs by The Chicks is “Wide Open Spaces.” It is about a young person striking out on their own. I have to admit it makes me a bit nostalgic for when my own children left home for the first time. It is a reminder to all parents that we have to let our children make mistakes, no matter how big, and always hold them tight.