My feelings on our National Anthem.

With the 4th of July, which is Independence day coming up, I wanted to do some patriotic posts. I decided t start off with one of the traditional as well as patriotic rituals that we observe in this great country we call the United States of America.

In this particular discussion I will discuss how the Star Spangled Banner was written, and what it means to me.

Lets start off by watching one of the best renditions of the Star Spangled Banner I have ever heard:



The Star Spangled Banner is the National Anthem for the UNited States of America. It was written by Francis Scott Key, and is taken from his poem "Defence of Fort McHenry", which he wrote in 1814 as a 35-year-old lawyer and amateur poet.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Star-Spangled_Banner)

The Battle of Fort McHenry happened during the War of 1812. Key was on a British Royal Navy ship in the Chesapeake Bay.

The Star Spangled Banner actually has four stanzas, but traditionally, only the first stanza is sung, although during more formal occasions both the first and fourth stanzas are performed.

The Sat Spangled Banner was first recognized for official use by the Navy in in the year of 1889, the President of the UNited States in 1816, and was made the national anthem of the U.S.A. by a congressional resolution on March 03, 1931, and signed by President Herbert Hoover.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Star-Spangled_Banner)

Keys witnessed the bombardment on Fort McHenry on a rainy night, observing the fort's small "storm flag" as long as the bombardment continued. Once the shelling stopped, Key was forced to wait until dawn to see what the outcome would be. But before dawn, the "storm flag" had been taken down, and the larger flag was raised. This larger flag is the Star Spangled Banner that the song refers to, and is currently on display at the National Museum of American History at the Smithsonian Institution. The Star Spangled Banner has 15 stars and 15 stripes.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Star-Spangled_Banner)

Key began writing the poem "Defence of Fort McHenry" while on the British ship, and was writing on the back of a letter he had been writing.

That is the history of the song. Now I want to break down what it means to me. I will be discussing the first stanza only here.

So to start, lets look at the entire first stanza:

O! say can you see by the dawn's early light,
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming,
Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight,
O'er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming?
And the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there;
O! say does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

And here we go.
What is the Star Spangled Banner? Some say it is a song or war or battle, and in a way I have to agree, at least a little bit. This is a song about war and battle, but it is not a song about violence. The song was born from violence no question about it, but the song itself is not about violence.

The Star Spangled Banner is a question, more specifically it is a question about whether we have survived the wars and battles we face. And if you break the song down line by line it is easy to see that this song, the whole song is Francis Scott Key asking us in essence, have we prevailed? He isn't asking if we are winning or losing, but if we are still trying. Lets look at what I mean line by line.

1-"O! say can you see by the dawn's early light,"
Key is telling us that the light is coming up, and he is asking if we can see in the early light. It is no longer to dark to see, and he is asking if we can look and see.

2-"What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming,"
Key says we could see our flag, and knew we were still fighting as twilight fell. But not only see the flag, but proudly see the flag. He is asking us if we can see our flag with pride, as we saw it before the night fell.

3- "Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight,"
Even though there was a fight, our flag was up and was displaying broad stripes and stars. And notice he specifically says broad stripes and bright stars. Not just stars and stripes. He says they were broad and bright. This made them easy to see, even as twilight was falling. I believe he is implying it should be easy for us to see, it should even maybe be obvious to us.

4- "O'er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming?"
This line, more or less, implies to me that these colors don't run. He could only see the flag over the ramparts, but the flag was "gallantly streaming". Gallantly means, "brave, spirited, noble-minded, or chivalrous", which means the flag was bravely, or spiritedly waving. Even in the face of this attack, the flag was bravely waving.
(http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/gallant)

5- "And the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air,"
The previous line adds to this one, and explains what is happening. Despite the battle that is happening, the bombardment that Fort McHenry is going through, the flag still bravely waves. Even in the face of violence and adversity, the flag still bravely flew over America.

6- "Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there;"
The bombardment that was meant to destroy Fort McHenry also provided the light Key needed to still be able to see that the flag was still standing. Key also is telling us that through the dark of night, through all the bombs, rockets, trials, and adversity, that our flag is still there.

7- "O! say does that star-spangled banner yet wave"
Once again, Key is asking us if we can see the flag, OUR flag flying and waving over our country. Can we still see our flag? Did the symbol of our country, and thus our country make it through the dark of night?

8- "O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?"
This summarizes the stanza. Can you still see our flag, our stars and stripes proudly and bravely flying over the land of the free and the home of the brave? Here in America we are all free, and I believe this means even as we are free we must be brave. We must be both because to only be one or the other means nothing, people must be brave and free.

Francis Scott Key, by writing this, was asking a very simple question. Through all the trials, hardships, wars, and anything that causes dark times in our country, can we, can you still see the flag as it waves? Does the symbol of our country still fly? Are we still free? Are we still proud? Our we still the land of the free and the home of the brave?

The Star Spangled Banner reminds us of who we are, where we come from, what we have, and what we need to be. Is is a song of war? Yes, and it is asking how we are faring each and every day against all the battles we must face and fight.

Sadly, many people do not see our flag. Many people won't stand, they won't take off their hats, they don't place their hand over their heart, and they talk, horse around, laugh, and generally live on when they should be showing respect.

Showing respect to the Star Spangled Banner is not showing respect to the flag and a song. No, it is much more than that. You also show respect to the brave men and women who have fought and died for that flag. For those who serve today for that flag. For those who served and was willing to die, not for a flag, but for what it represents.

The next time you see a flag go by, or hear the Star Spangled Banner, stand up, be quiet, take off your hat and put your right hand over your heart. Then look around. You'll probably be able to easily see those who served. They stand a little taller, and there is a certain pride in their eyes. But there is also sorrow as they watch the Americans they served for disrespecting their flag, their country, and their friends.

Want to see what I mean?

http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh182/HAYDENS_MOMMA06/vetsalutesflag.jpg


http://www.navyvets.org/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/att00086.jpg


http://blog.nj.com/ledgerupdates_impact/2008/05/large_vetwayne.JPG

http://www.defense.gov/dodcmsshare/homepagephoto/2008-04/hires_080426-O-9999R-250A.jpg

If you look, you will see it. They will have teary eyes, they will softly sing the words, because they know them. Even though their voice may not be great, they will sing it. And they sing it with pride.