Quote:
Originally Posted by OrangeBlossomBaby
I love that we have a National Anthem. I'm not fond of THAT National Anthem. I stand with respect when it's performed because like it or not, it's our National Anthem and therefore deserving of respect. It's a long-winded poem, most people don't know anything beyond the first verse, and it's rarely played beyond the first verse. It also reminds us of how absolutely normal slavery was, and that needs to be updated. "No refuge could save the hireling and slave from the terror of flight or the gloom of the grave..." Yes it's about a moment in time. But it was a bloody gruesome moment in time.
I'd much rather celebrate America, the Beautiful. But I think the whole "God shed his grace on thee and crowned thy good with brotherhood" is too much for anyone who has a problem with people actually feeling brotherhood toward each other without consideration of color, origin, preference, pronouns, accent.
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And that's what a national anthem does. INCLUDING history that might be distasteful. I think it is a big mistake to try to erase history---tear down statues, rename sports teams and selectively teach our children.
Remember, ‘Those who do not learn history are doomed to repeat it.’---Jorge Agustín Nicolás Ruiz de Santayana y Borrás