Tom Waddell: What does the national anthem really reflect?

[HAB911]

I take issue with the recent Maine Compass column, “We should all respect our anthem” (Sept. 9). On the surface the article was laughable, but read a little deeper and you find the disturbing values expressed are exactly what is wrong with America. An online comment exposed the column’s disturbing values very well: “Despite references to the importance of ‘personal freedom,’ unless actions meet a certain narrow prescription, they are demonized as inadequate and the basis of many ills.”

One of those disturbing opinions is that the national anthem expresses who we are as Americans and shows our sacred respect for all who gave their lives on our battlefields to defend a democratic society.

“The Star-Spangled Banner,” written by Francis Scott Key during the War of 1812, referred to America as the “Land of the Free and Home of the Brave.”

Those are lofty sentiments, but the reality is that during the War of 1812, American slaves were doing all they could to be captured by the British. The slaves knew they were more likely to be treated fairly by the British than they were by Americans. Apparently Americans forgot to respect all the black soldiers who gave their lives on our Revolutionary War battlefields to create a democratic society in the first place.

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[Merlot]

1. To me it's a song that glorifies war.

[Scruffy1]

2. It's a terrible song.

no one can sing it, and it's all about a minor event in a long ago conflict. This describes a lot about the american hegemony. We didn't have a national anthem until 1931. It's way too militaristic and limited. Since when does the military own the flag?

[Yussie143]

3. Our anthem is our pride

Our national anthem represents our country and nationality. We should respect it no matter what.

[HAB911]

4. Like "Love it or Leave it"?

[czarjak]

5. Wrong...

[Merlot]

6. "...should respect it no matter what."

Being told to respect something no matter your personal opinion is the begining of fascism or authoritarianism.

[Eliot Rosewater]

8. The taking of the knee is respect, funny how certain folks see it

as something else, something that interferes with racism.

[Eliot Rosewater]

7. You dont seem to understand what taking a knee means.

[Cold War Spook]

9. May 31, 1963

I enlisted in the army. I took an oath to support and defend the Constitution against all enemies foreign and domestic. There wasn't any mention of the flag or the national anthem. People who hold the national anthem and flag above the Constitution are a great threat to this country.

[Deb]

10. Thank you!