The National Anthem

[ed@das.llnl.gov (Edward Suranyi)]

Vickie says she thinks the national anthem is "stinky and stupid," and
prefers "America the Beautiful".  I have some comments.  (Everything I
say is, obviously, IMHO.)

First of all, the main problem with the current national anthem is that
it's notoriously hard to sing!  Few people can manage its large range.
The patriotic song with the best melody is, without a doubt, "My Country,
'Tis Of Thee".  No wonder -- it's the same melody as the British national
anthem, "God Save The Queen".  So that rules that out as a possibility.

"God Bless America" has neither a great melody nor good lyrics, and I'm
uncomfortable with the mention of God in a possible national anthem.  So
although it's quite popular with people who want to change the national
anthem, I think it's worse than the current one.

"America The Beautiful" isn't bad.  But once again, God is mentioned.

One thing that should be kept in mind is that the American national
anthem is by no means the only one that expresses warlike sentiment.
The Canadian anthem, "O Canada", contains the line "O Canada, we stand
on guard for thee."  The Marseillaise is clearly military in its outlook.

Another thing is that the American anthem doesn't talk about the
desirablility of war, especially in foreign countries.  It simply 
describes a historic event that took place during a war on American soil.
I've always been fascinated by American history.  Perhaps this is
why I like the lyrics of the national anthem better than "America The
Beautiful" -- the former tells a story of what actually happened.  Why
shouldn't we be happy that Fort McHenry didn't surrender?  Should we
be ashamed that we won World War II because the war produced so much 
suffering?

Note, I am by no means a militarist or "hawk" of any sort.  I consider
myself quite liberal in politics, and so do others who have discussed
politics with me.  But sometimes, in the past, military actions produced
favorable results.

Vickie, I agree that the mere fact that the flag was still flying over
the fort is not very important.  But the fact that it meant that the
fort had not surrendered was very important.  It could have cost us the
war.

Anyway, that's my two cents.

Ed
ed@das.llnl.gov