Do you know what yesterday was? It was the 200th anniversary of the penning of our national anthem. Yup. Around 9 AM on morning of the 14th of September 1814, just when the sun was coming up, Francis Scott Key saw the raising of the 15 stars and stripes up the Fort McHenry (Baltimore, MD) flagpole.
The British had already destroyed Washington, DC (sparing what was then Alexandria, DC), burning and sacking that portion of the US capital city. They hoped to take the city of Baltimore (50,000 residents strong) and were about to do so after 2 days of fighting, when an American solider (sniper? sharpshooter? Isn’t the term dependent upon which side you are on?) killed the British general. And, the British decided they couldn’t win the battle and left.
When I was a child, we said the pledge of allegiance (not the one you all know, though- because the “under G-d” part had not yet been inserted, thankfully) and the national anthem every day. (We also sand Hatikva- the Hope- too. A tune my mom knew, even though she had no real Jewish ties, but it was more a ditty her mother taught her and she ‘sang’ for us, too. Her version was all about families and children and growing up.)
But, I digress. Do you really know our national anthem?
Do you really pay attention to the words of “In Defence of Fort McHenry”? (That’s the name of the first stanza of the poem that we now call the Star Spangled Banner. The tune is a pretty tricky one, one that covers notes in several keys, making it tougher to sing.)
O say can you see by the dawn’s early light,
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight’s last gleaming,
Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight,
O’er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming?
And the rockets’ red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there;
O say does that star-spangled banner yet wave,
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave?
Do you notice that every time you sing the anthem- or listen to it- you are commanded to answer that last question? That you are commanded to make sure that this experiment, the American Experiment, is not at risk from dying or vanishing from the face of the earth.
That’s our job. We need to make the American Dream possible yet again. It’s not supposed to be a chimera…
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.-
I do not remember ever reading the third verse. That one packs a wallop. I am afraid we have been guilty of doing that in the last 50 years in the name of serving our county, saving the world for democracy, saving the world from communism, (oil), etc.
Next, the part of the Declaration of Independence you quoted has not yet been fulfilled in our country let alone elsewhere. Feminists, racial, handicapped, equality seekers and other groups have not seen the freedom to pursue life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
Whether this concept can exist anywhere besides in our imaginations still remains to be seen.
Experiment–yes. Ongoing–maybe. The America Dream–a chimera???
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Ah, we had to learn all the verses as a child, Ann…
Of course, our school was a stickler for true history lessons.
And, yes, we are imperfect. The question is whether we hope to keep improving or will we keep electing representatives who see their job as destroying the central government, being obfuscatory, and withholding funding for vital initiatives….
If we do, it will no longer be a dream; instead it will be beyond chimeric and just a cruel joke on the middle class and the poor…
You said that the question is whether we hope to keep improving or will we keep electing representative who see their job as destroying the central government.
I have seen too many politicians whose lips spoke things I approved of and then when they were in office, their hearts and votes when just the opposite.
My question is how do you know for sure the representative you elect will keep his or her word? Even people who have been in office and have track records a certain way can change their stripes.
John Tower comes to mind although he started a little before my time. I attribute the turn Texas made from a Democratic state to a Republican one to Tower. But then he even angered more conservative Republicans by being pro-choice. Later he made even more of congress angry.
The point is that you can’t vote a party ticket. You can’t vote for a congress person based on prior performance. You can’t vote for a candidate based on what he says while he is running for office.
How do we keep from electing representatives who see their job as destroying the central government, being obfuscatory and withholding funding for vital initiatives?
Again I have to ask what is the truth?
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It is relatively easy for me to see, Ann. I think it is for others, as well- by examining their previous actions.
I don’t want to belabor the point- but check out Rand Paul- who is clearly now changing his positions so he can be nominated (and heaven forbid- win) for the presidency. That’s a clear example.
That’s the sort of example.
I could go on and on about others- starting with the illustrious example of what purports to be statesmen from Texas, too..
But, I can’t do it now- I have to get ready for my clients, who are already feeling that I am going to give them the short shrift as Rosh Hashana, Yom Kipur, and Sukot “steal” some 15 days of the next 30 or so. (And, then, there’s weekends.)
Reading the exact words of an anthem is always interesting. I had a similar experience with the French anthem, La Marseillaise. The words are very, very violent. That said, I suppose that such anthems were written during wars…
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Ah, yes… That is the reasoning behind anthems- to stir up jingoistic tendencies, Madame Muriel…