UrsaMajor said:
agree on most points:
The anthem should ONLY be played at international events like the Olympics
It's not a very good song (I can't think of another country's anthem that glorifies war).
If it has to be played, I vote for Jimi Hendrix's version.
Don't disagree that it should only be played at international sporting events.
It is not a great tune, but I don't agree it is not a very good song. It is an incredibly meaningful song if people will learn its meaning. It is not a glorification of war. It is about a pivotal moment in our history where our country was being attacked and its very existence was at stake. It is a metaphor. It is not about the battle. It is about the moment that the continued existence of the republic and our freedom is proved. Sitting in the harbor, knowing the country was about to suffer a ferocious attack, as night falls the American flag is flying and disappears from view. He has to contemplate whether he will ever see that flag fly again. The lines about rockets and bombs are not glorifying war. They are referring to the British rockets and bombs. The only point of the rockets and bombs is that they light up the sky giving him brief glimpses during the battle that the flag still flies and we are still free. By the dawn, he knows the battle is over, but he does not know the outcome. The light of dawn shows him the flag and he knows we are still free. None of the song is about the fight. It is all about our continued liberty being proved to him by the existence of the flag. The song is about freedom. To the extent later stanzas that we do not sing are "about war", to the contrary they are about defending ourselves against war when we must to protect our freedom from invaders who attack it. it is not glorifying war at all but villifying those that would wage war to take our freedom.
We do a poor job of teaching the War of 1812. The fact that it doesn't seem to be a key moment in our history is exactly what is key about it. Had things gone a different way, it would have been a very key moment, though it would have been British history, not American history.
There was much talk when I was younger about replacing the Star Spangled Banner with America the Beautiful. I wholeheartedly disagreed. America the Beautiful is a very nice song. It is about landscape. The Star Spangled Banner is about something. It is about freedom and how it will always stand as long as we are willing to defend it physically or metaphorically. Frankly, it is about who we are. The "its a song about war" bit is a result of a too cursory interpretation of the actual meaning of the words.
As for not thinking of another country's anthem glorifying war, um...lots of them do. Here is a translation of France's national anthem (I sang the first part every day in my French language classes in 7th and 8th grade - in French of course):
Arise, children of the Fatherland,
The
day of glory has arrived!
Against us, tyranny's
Bloody
standard is raised,
(repeat)Do you hear, in the countryside,
The roar of those
ferocious soldiers?
They're coming right into your arms
To cut the throats of your sons, your women!
To arms, citizens,
Form your battalions,
Let's march, let's march!
Let an impure blood
Water our furrows!
What does this horde of slaves,
Of
traitors and conspiring kings want?
For whom have these vile chains,
These irons, been long prepared?
(repeat)Frenchmen, for us, ah! What outrage
What furious action it must arouse!
It is to us they dare plan
A return to the old slavery!
To arms, citizens...
What! Foreign cohorts
Would make the law in our homes!
What! These mercenary phalanxes
Would strike down our proud warriors! (repeat)
Great God! By chained hands
Our brows would yield under the yoke!
Vile despots would themselves become
The masters of our destinies!
To arms, citizens...
Tremble, tyrants and you traitors
The shame of all parties,
Tremble! Your parricidal schemes
Will finally receive their prize!
(repeat)Everyone is a soldier to combat you,
If they fall, our young heroes,
Will be produced anew from the ground,
Ready to fight against you!
To arms, citizens...
Frenchmen, as magnanimous warriors,
Bear or hold back your blows!
Spare those sorry victims,
For regretfully arming against us.
(repeat)But these bloodthirsty despots,
These accomplices of
Bouill,
All these tigers who mercilessly
Tear apart their mother's breast!
To arms, citizens...
Sacred love of the Fatherland,
Lead, support our avenging arms
Liberty, cherished Liberty,
Fight with thy defenders!
(repeat)Under our flags may victory
Hurry to thy manly accents,
So that thy expiring enemies
See thy triumph and our glory!
To arms, citizens...