September 24, 2017

The composer of the national anthem: Just a reminder

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.”

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Let's replace this trashy, bellicose piece of music with Simon & Garfunkel's Sound Of Silence.

Anonymous said...

I'd rather Woody's "This Land", slightly folk-processed for greater inclusion and greater responsibility.

Anonymous said...

Both the lyrics and music of "This Land" are stilted and dull, but that's the idea that a decent anthem should express.

Anonymous said...

Why 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.