Oh, say can you see by the dawn’s early light
\nWhat so proudly we hailed at the twilight’s last gleaming?
\nWhose broad stripes and bright stars thru the perilous fight,
\nO’er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming?
\nAnd the rocket’s red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
\nGave proof through the night that our flag was still there.
\nOh, say does that star-spangled banner yet wave
\nO’er the land of the free and the home of the brave?<\/p>\n
On the shore, dimly seen through the mists of the deep,
\nWhere the foe’s haughty host in dread silence reposes,
\nWhat is that which the breeze, o’er the towering steep,
\nAs it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses?
\nNow it catches the gleam of the morning’s first beam,
\nIn full glory reflected now shines in the stream:
\n‘Tis the star-spangled banner! Oh long may it wave
\nO’er the land of the free and the home of the brave!<\/p>\n
And where is that band who so vauntingly swore
\nThat the havoc of war and the battle’s confusion,
\nA home and a country should leave us no more!
\nTheir blood has washed out their foul footsteps’ pollution.
\nNo refuge could save the hireling and slave
\nFrom the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave:
\nAnd the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave
\nO’er the land of the free and the home of the brave!<\/p>\n
Oh! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand
\nBetween their loved home and the war’s desolation!
\nBlest with victory and peace, may the heav’n rescued land
\nPraise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation.
\nThen conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
\nAnd this be our motto: “In God is our trust.”
\nAnd the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
\nO’er the land of the free and the home of the brave!<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Star Spangled Banner\u201d \u00a0Francis Scott Key, 1814
\nThe national anthem of the United States of America.<\/p>\n
When I was very young, I was taught verses one and four. \u00a0Somewhat later, oh…third or fourth grade, I think it was…I learned the others. \u00a0Yes, I grew up in the days before the \u201cstand respectfully if you don\u2019t care to sing\u201d rules.<\/p>\n
My wife directed me to a YouTube video of a nice little nine year-old girl singing it in front of a stadium full of football fans. \u00a0You know the type…it makes the rounds of e-mail chains once in awhile. \u00a0Funny thing…that nine year old is in her teens, now…but I digress.<\/p>\n
Used to be that, if the national anthem was being played, people ON THE STREETS would stop, face a flag, (they used to be everywhere), and put their hands over their hearts. \u00a0Many would even sing, no matter how badly! \u00a0Not infrequently, a tear would show itself on a face in the crowd.<\/p>\n
As I alluded, this video was several years out-of-date. \u00a0I shan\u2019t name the team for which this rendition was being sung, nor even the city. \u00a0Suffice it to say that I felt pity…and then shame, for them…Why, you ask?<\/p>\n
Because up until recently, stadium announcers did not NEED to ask people to STAND. \u00a0They did not NEED to ask \u201cgentlemen\u201d to \u201cremove their hats\u201d during the singing of \u201cThe Star Spangled Banner\u201d as they do today. \u00a0Sad enough, from my perspective. \u00a0But this video, even four years ago, did what they usually do. \u00a0It panned around from the Army Reserve or USMC Honor Guard to the sidelines of players and faces in the crowd. \u00a0Not all that long ago, it was unusual to see a player that wasn\u2019t at least lip-syncing with the words. \u00a0In this particular video there were none.<\/p>\n
At first, as I said, I felt pity for the people of the city where this game was held. \u00a0That pity begat shame, and that shame begat revulsion. \u00a0In an era that both enshrines and derides a football player for his open devotion to his G-d, this nation gives him the liberty to do so. \u00a0You may disagree with that player. \u00a0You may disagree with the NASCAR driver who promotes his faith. \u00a0You might not be squarely behind the golf pro, the tennis pro, the Olympic athlete or even singer, actor, scientist or politician that openly thanks or makes reference to their particular version of the Divine, but just as surely as it is your RIGHT to feel that way, it is their RIGHT to do it in the first place…in complete and utter disregard for your \u201cfeelings\u201d about it. \u00a0So you\u2019re even.<\/p>\n
So…still think that a nod of reverence for those words at the beginning of this essay are \u201cold fashioned\u201d or \u201cunwarranted\u201d? \u00a0Still think that they give you the \u201cright\u201d to be \u201cfree from\u201d such displays of faith more than they have a right to make those displays? \u00a0Why? \u00a0Fair is fair, right? \u00a0During the football game, one side doesn\u2019t have the right to commit fouls at the expense of the other, does it? \u00a0In the \u201cbig race\u201d, one car isn\u2019t allowed to have an extra hundred horsepower, is it? \u00a0Fair is as fair does. \u00a0Give and take. \u00a0Live and let live.<\/p>\n
I don\u2019t presume to insist that schoolchildren in this day and age must needs be taught all four verses of \u201cThe Star Spangled Banner\u201d. \u00a0Do I believe it would make this nation a better place for them and their children? \u00a0Yes, I do, but they are your kids. \u00a0Not mine. \u00a0Live and let live. \u00a0Neither have you any complaint if my children do, in fact, know all of those words…and teach them to their children. \u00a0Fair is as fair does. \u00a0\u00a0I DO, however, believe that ALL children in these United States should learn at LEAST the FIRST verse. \u00a0The ones who don\u2019t \u201cbelieve on it\u201d may \u201copt-out\u201d of singing it, but I still believe it should be TAUGHT. \u00a0Right up there with the Pledge of Allegiance and the Preamble of the Constitution.<\/p>\n
And I honestly don\u2019t care if you agree with me or not.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Oh, 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 thru the perilous fight, O’er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming? And the rocket’s red glare, the bombs bursting in air, Gave proof through the night that<\/p>\n