Played or sung at it's normal pace and rhythm, the National Anthem of the United States of America takes an average of 1:06 from start to finish. That means out there in the country, we are asking folks to stand still and be quiet for approximately 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000th of their life. I have no idea what that number that I typed represents, but I think it's fair to say I mean the Star Spangled Banner (and your obligation to show some respect for it) is something like 1:buzagoojillionth of your lifetime. I know, I know...you're all very busy out there, and that's asking a lot of you. But as a matter of courtesy (another lost art), you probably could be quiet, put your nachos down for a minute (literally) and stop fidgeting around.
Pictured above is the flag that flew over Ft. McHenry on September 13th, 1814. So inspired by the scene he witnessed - men giving their lives fighting for a principle - Francis Scott Key actually wrote a three stanza poem. We all know the words to the first stanza, which is the accepted version of "our" nation's song. Actually, the poem was written to match the meter of the English song, "To anacreon in Heaven". I'm not sure what any of that has to do with the poem itself. It probably was a favorite of Mr. Key's, and he went with what he liked.
In 1776, 1814, 1917, and 1944, men and women fought and died for their principles. Then I guess the way we as a country viewed this kind of thing changed. Back in those days men and women were called "revolutionary". Now the same guys and gals - doing the same thing - are called lots of different stuff, but certainly not revolutionary. Back then we supported the troops with letter-writing campaigns and songs like "Over There". Now we "support" them with arguments on talk TV. Back then we rolled bandages by the tens of thousands. Now we roll caravan's into rallies to stop the "insanity" of chasing after those who attacked us. Back then we fought the Nazi's. Now we call people in our highest office Nazi's.
How far have we fallen?
I too have some heartburn with some of the decisions made of late. But that doesn't mean I say absurd things like the President is a Nazi. For the love of Pete, the guy might not be the shiniest bubble in the bathtub, but he's not Hitler. To me, wantonly confusing the two when you know better is a much more unpardonable sin. However, defending the President was not my focus here. Instead, I was hoping to refocus some of you.
Wanna "fix" the country? Okay. Start by tending to your own garden. The next time you go to a sporting event and the national anthem is played, take the time to explain to your children why it's important for them to show their 1:06 of respect. Tell them about places like Pearl Harbor, Valley Forge, and the World Trade Center. Have them stand up at a parade as the main "Colors" pass by. Tell them it's ok to act as if nationalism isn't dead and gone. If we don't start telling them this, there won't be enough with this type of belief structure around in 50 years to pass anything on to the succeeding generations.
Oh...and while you're at it...tell them to take their hat off.
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6 comments:
In the America of my youth. It was enough to just be American. By second grade we already knew the words to the Star Spangled Banner and 1/2 dozen other patriotic songs. My Dad, put the flag up appropriately for all the holidays it was supposed to go up for and he ALWAYS took it down at sunset. I feared an awful fate if the flag hit the ground.
1:06?..you bet I have the time, I know the words and I ask anyone around me at a baseball game to please remove their hat..and I sing out loud...even the high notes!
~leelee~
And it doesn't even hurt
I pledge allegiance to the Flag
of the United States of America, and to the Republic for
which it stands:
one Nation under God,
indivisible,
With Liberty and Justice for all.
I said this until I was blue in the face as a kid in the private school I went to (and my kids still say it everyday at their public school). One day, when I was much older and my kids were babies and I had not said the pledge in a long time, I came across a copy of it in the newspaper printed on a flag.
I stood there, read it aloud, then again with my hand over my heart, and wept. It meant so much more to me as an adult. I hung up that flag in my kitchen and it stayed there for many years. I started teaching it to my children before they went to pre-school
Wonderful Jl4...
-BellaCora
"Back then we supported the troops with letter-writing campaigns and songs like "Over There". Now we "support" them with arguments on talk TV. Back then we rolled bandages by the tens of thousands. Now we roll caravan's into rallies to stop the "insanity" of chasing after those who attacked us."
Agreed, for the most part. Lets take a look at a war that I think you as an American and me as a Brit living in and loving the USA can agree was a triumph for the democratic ideals both our countries espouse (I'll leave the war of 1812 alone!). Back then, US industry stopped making luxury goods and put their shoulders to the wheel of the war effort. The big engines made in Detroit went into Sherman tanks, not GMC Yukons. Back then, the President encouraged people to join it the war effort to defeat totalitarianism. Now we are asked to go shopping and go on vacation. Back then, the government issued victory bonds. Today we pile the cost of the war into a huge deficit underwritten by foreign banks and governments, including the wahhabist Saudis and the communist Chinese. Back then the flag wasn't sold on T-shirts and bumper stickers, it was worn on the sleeves of paratroopers or carried up the hills of Iwo Jima- if you were patriotic you had to prove it through actions, not songs, pledges or car magnets (sold for profit and often made in China btw).
We should pay respect to all that is represented by the anthem and the flag, and more importantly the freedoms- including the freedom to dissent, even if only as a lonely minority of one- they embody.
a) thanks to weasel for a blog idea.
b) one of the things that freaked out the most the first time i went to see a movie in an aafes movie theather was having to stand for the national anthem. not the actual standing, but it was just so different. i was very glad to do it, and now i think it's cool that they take the time to do that. it bothers me to no end to go to a pro game and see the players on the field playing grab-ass and whispering to one another while the anthem plays.
you've seen alot of the same things i have. and really know how lucky we are. it's hard to try and put that in words and spread the faith. people either get it or they don't.
great post.
Sean, the standing in the theatre is an interesting thing; when I was a kid growing up on British bases we all had to do it before they would start the Saturday Children's Matinee; it was the same from Eastern England to Cyprus to Hong Kong, and if you didn't the unlucky NCO charged with chaperoning the mob of young hooligans gathered for two movies and discounted candy would take note and tell your dad afterwards....
When the "Star Spangled Banner" is played I do turn and face the flag but I do not place my hand on my heart or sing (although I do know all the words) because I am a British citizen here on a visa. I think it is important for me to respect my host country but also not to dishonour my country of birth and citizenship by placing another nation's symbols above my own. I'm sure you would all do the same when visiting London for example- how many of you would put your hand over your heart while watching the Union Flag being marched out at the Changing of the Guard?
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