Frequently when asked what our National Anthem is, I her flag-waving patriots stumble between which opening lines it might be. Does it start “Oh beautiful for spacious skies?” Or “My country tis of thee?” It’s actually the Star Spangled Banner, starting “Oh say can you see…”
A Harris Interactive survey in 2004 found 61% of Americans knew they did not know the words to our national anthem. Of the 39% who claimed to know the Star Spangled Banner, only 39% knew the next line.
This problem is evident at public events. And has led me to conduct a full investigation.
Although the Navy and the Marines have used the star-spangled banner as their anthem for years (probably because of such appropriately inspiring lyrics as “Their blood has washed out their foul footsteps’ pollution” and “No refuge could save the hireling and slave, From the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave”), but Congress just adopted it as our nation’s anthem in 1931!
Like the Pledge of Allegiance, this is a new thing.
The pledge was adopted 9 years later in 1942, but the controversial “Under God” line wasn’t added for another 12 years, until 1954. Residue from the Red Scare.
Despite widespread opinion that the anthem is non-religious, one of the closing lines paints our country christian “And this be our motto: “In God is our trust””. Unfortunately, all of the popular songs about our USA include overt religious pieces. My country tis… croons about how “Our father’s God”, and America the Beautiful, although it reminds me of dogs is still religious; “God shed his grace on thee”.
So what are we to do? We live in a country founded because of the need for separation of church and state, yet our national anthem is a gory religious ballad with obscure lyrics. We added God to our flag pledge out of fear and hatred for opposing beliefs.
Interesting Asides:
Goshen College in Indiana has already replaced the Star Spangled Banner with America the Beautiful at all public events because of the violence in the original anthem.
on 30 September 2011, China’s national television station accompanied the rocket launch of their country’s first Space Laboratory with a lyric-less version of “America the Beautiful”. China’s government, widely known for admitting mistakes, has made no public acknowledgement of the event.
jaslyn devi 