Don’t ‘Cancel’ the National Anthem | Eastern North Carolina Now

Publisher's note: The author of this post is Mitch Kokai for the John Locke Foundation.

    Joshua Lawson of the Federalist describes why "The Star-Spangled Banner" deserves celebration, not condemnation.

  • Since the moment it became the official national anthem of the United States in 1931, "The Star-Spangled Banner," has had its share of critics. It can be hard to sing. Its lyrics feature words long removed from our daily vocabulary. And, in recent decades, celebrity performers often take far too many liberties with the song — sometimes with truly horrifying results. Now, amidst the nigh-insatiable appetites of the cancel culture mobs, the pressure is mounting to abandon the anthem once and for all.
  • Calls to cancel the "The Star-Spangled Banner" have support from the American Civil Liberties Union and the editor-in-chief of Yahoo Music, and are featured in the Los Angeles Times. Yet despite the passion of the hate directed at the anthem, the arguments fall flat. "The Star-Spangled Banner" shouldn't be canceled — it should be sung louder than ever. ...
  • ... [I]ndeed, the tune used by "The Star-Spangled Banner" is John Stafford Smith's "To Anacreon in Heaven," a British song that was performed at pubs and men's social clubs.
  • But this isn't a bug, it's a feature. What's more subversive and snarky than using a drinking song of the nation you defeated in a war of independence to celebrate another later victory over that same nation? That the tune of the U.S. anthem is British isn't a flaw, it's a delightful musical example of 19th-century "trolling."
  • Second, the anthem features, at most, six words that may be unfamiliar to some Americans: "hailed," "gleaming," "perilous," "ramparts," "gallantly," and "spangled." That's it — six words (maybe) in the entire song. Not only is this not the end of the world, but it's also more of a condemnation of our failed public school system than an indictment of the lyrics or its lyricist.

Go Back


Leave a Guest Comment

Your Name or Alias
Your Email Address ( your email address will not be published)
Enter Your Comment ( no code or urls allowed, text only please )




New Telling of Perry Mason’s Tale Makes Case Against Licensing Burdens John Locke Foundation Guest Editorial, Editorials, Op-Ed & Politics It’s Hard to Believe the 2020 Presidential Election Has Been Overshadowed


HbAD0

Latest Op-Ed & Politics

Biden wants to push this in public schools and Gov. deSantis says NO
this at the time that pro-Hamas radicals are rioting around the country
populist / nationalist anti-immigration AfD most popular party among young voters, CDU second

HbAD1

Barr had previously said he would jump off a bridge before supporting Trump
illegal alien "asylum seeker" migrants are a crime wave on both sides of the Atlantic
Decision is a win for election integrity. NC should do the same.
Biden regime intends to force public school compliance as well as colleges

HbAD2

prosecutors appeal acquittal of member of parliament in lower court for posting Bible verse
Biden abuses power to turn statute on its head; womens groups to sue
The Missouri Senate approved a constitutional amendment to ban non-U.S. citizens from voting and also ban ranked-choice voting.
Democrats prosecuting political opponets just like foreign dictrators do
populist / nationalist / sovereigntist right are kingmakers for new government
18 year old boy who thinks he is girl planned to shoot up elementary school in Maryland
Biden assault on democracy continues to build as he ramps up dictatorship
One would think that the former Attorney General would have known better
UNC board committee votes unanimously to end DEI in UNC system

HbAD3

 
Back to Top