Snopes - Francis Scott Key,
the wealthy American lawyer who wrote “The Star Spangled Banner” in the
wake of the Battle of Fort McHenry on 14 September 1814, was a
slaveholder who
believed
blacks to be “a distinct and inferior race of people, which all
experience proves to be the greatest evil that afflicts a community.”
Let's replace this trashy, bellicose piece of music with Simon & Garfunkel's Sound Of Silence.
ReplyDeleteI'd rather Woody's "This Land", slightly folk-processed for greater inclusion and greater responsibility.
ReplyDeleteBoth the lyrics and music of "This Land" are stilted and dull, but that's the idea that a decent anthem should express.
ReplyDeleteWhy not keep it as an everlasting example we can continue to bash, as we educate new generations to embrace internationalism, anti-militarism and other worthy objectives? Or, let the notion of an anthem die altogether, rather than replace it with some sort of quasi religious pap.
ReplyDelete