“The True Meaning of The National Anthem” Rough Draft. “When we hear the national anthem, it is a call to honor our country and its history.” The national anthem, also called “The Star-Spangled Banner,” has been a fundamental part of United States history since it was first written by United States attorney Francis Scott Key in 1814 during the War of 1812. This song, which was first merely a poem recalling the events of an attack by the British against Fort McHenry, an American fort built in Baltimore, became a staple in American history. However, various organizations have begun protesting this display of national pride and independence. Those who engage in these senseless acts of defiance against their country claim that by doing this, they …show more content…
It is not something to be joked about or made fun of. All physically able citizens should stand for the playing of “The Star-Spangled Banner” because it shows respect for members of the armed forces, creates and displays a feeling of unity, and represents the values of justice and liberty for all. When you stand for the national anthem, you are actively honoring past and present armed forces members. Millions of men and women have enlisted in the military to fight for the freedom of the American people even before America gained independence from Great Britain in 1776. Whether it is the Army, Navy, National Guard, Air Force, Space Force, Coast Guard, Marine Corps, or Air National Guard, each branch has been used for hundreds of years to fight for American independence. One popular misconception is that since a large majority of Americans will never enlist in the army or another branch of the military, there is no way for them to honor and thank the American heroes who have fought for their freedom. This is completely untrue. “Americans have stood for the U.S. flag since June 14, 1777, the day the Continental Congress declared that ‘the flag of the (thirteen) United States be thirteen stripes, alternate red and white: that the union be thirteen stars, white in …show more content…
By standing for “The Star-Spangled Banner,” citizens are actively showing their support for the country and its principles of justice and liberty. “We stand not because of past or present pain caused by injustice, but to salute the principle of justice. patriotism is pride in the principles that paved the way for change, whether that change was trading royalty for representation in 1776 or exchanging enslavement for emancipation in 1863.” (Cook). By stating this, the author of this article proves her point that standing for the playing of the national anthem is a method of showing support for the country’s founding morals, even if one may not agree with actions taken by government officials. Standing for the playing of the national anthem is important as a citizen of the United States because it displays respect for armed forces members, demonstrates a feeling of patriotism and unity, and represents the fundamental national values of justice and liberty for all. Some argue that kneeling for the playing of “The Star-Spangled Banner” is a positive thing, as it reinforces the values of free speech and free protest. However, as Americans, it is our duty to
In the September 6, 2016 NJPSA editorial “Flag Salute-Rights of Students and Schools” Robert M. Schwartz asserts the idea that students have a right to not stand for patriotic anthems such as the “Star-Spangled Banner”. Schwartz also discusses a variety of court cases and the different reasons students have appealed to the court for their right to not participate in patriotic affairs such as the National Anthem and Pledge of Allegiance. Although the National Anthem has been incorporated in almost
progressing. It is important to blossom because it generates one’s self to recognize their place in the world and there society. An example of people being lost in reality can refer to The Star Spangled Banner and the poem “America.” One is a song that represents the United States of America and has a distinct meaning to our country. While the other however, shows the reality of the people who live in this Nation, and the problems America deals with daily. The main conflict that American’s face is the
Militarism Paper “One of the most durable buttresses of militarism is found in the world of sport” (Martin and Steuter p. 131). Popular culture normalizes militarism in various ways, such as even a normal part of American culture as sports. Sports have done a lot of things for me in my life including changing my perspective of how I look at militarism. The military uses sports to advertise to a large group of people across America that will create a positive feeling towards war. Sports make the
Nothing But the Truth is a documentary novel laying out how evidence of how one student's will to hum along with the playing of "The Star Spangled Banner" resulted in media coverage, resulting in the professional departure of a well-meaning English teacher. Phillip is unaware of the eventual consequences of his actions to himself and others. A major theme of this book is the search for complete truth while there are many versions of the
change of tone further exemplifies the severity of her message. Later, Lorde addresses her own personal definition of American independence through her repetition used in the last paragraph of the word white (242). This use of repetition defines her meaning along with the use of irony to show how flawed American “independence” was to her. While her trip was located in Washington D.C., the capital of America denoted as the place of freedom and equality, she was treated unfairly due to her
specifically uses those words to show he is displeased, not with America itself, but perhaps the people that actually run the country. In the third line the writer mimics the first stanza in the national anthem of the United States of America, “The Star Spangled Banner” by Francis Scott Key. This line, however, in Cumming’s poem is cleverly missing the word “light” after “dawn’s early”. In his subtle way, the ... ... middle of paper ... ...ll glorifies America. Work Cited Roberts, Edgar V.,
America has long been well known for its values of freedom and diversity, it is even stated in the Star Spangled Banner, “The Land of the Free.” However, was America truly the land of the free? African Americans were stripped from their native homes and forced to work in the fields of the South, some even being born into this slavery and dying because of it. Women, did not share the same freedoms that white men did, and immigrants, though being welcomed into the border of this country because of
definition of the American Dream from Barron’s Book Notes shows the goals of the American People. Francis Scott Fitzgerald capitalized on this dream and the corruption that lies within it during the 1920’s in his novel, The Great Gatsby. Although many meanings, lessons, and themes are present in this story, the central theme can be stated as, “A dream can often times become corrupted.” Money, power, and fame are supposed to drive an individual to success, but this ideology may do the opposite. This part
The United States of America is the land of the free and the home of the brave according to the Star-Spangled Banner, the country’s national anthem. From a young age, Americans are told that capitalism is the only economic system that works, that communism is an evil form of government. Communism is looked down upon by many Americans because many leaders of communist countries are corrupt. Instead of distributing the wealth among the people, the way communism is designed, the leaders take most of
died) they show Cole struggling, very upset, crying over her being killed, as they carry the young girl out of the house the star spangled banner melody plays in the background. The man that was shown with his daughter was very torn up about the shooting, then it flashes back to
The act stated that, “Resolved, That the flag of the United States be made of thirteen stripes, alternate red and white; that the union be thirteen stars, white in a blue field, representing a new Constellation” (History Of The American Flag). “The name Old Glory was given to a large, 10-by-17-foot flag by its owner, William Driver, a sea captain from Massachusetts. Inspiring the common nickname for
doing this, Cummings ties the symbolic meaning of distorting the poem’s form to the idea that nationalism, too, has dark and distorted aspects. The poem is a Petrarchan sonnet with irregular meter divided in rhyme scheme into an ABABCDCD octave and an EFGFEG sestet. Traditional Petrarchan sonnets have a sestet rhyme scheme of EDEFEF, so here, too, Cummings alters the form to draw attention to the poem’s central theme. It is in the last six lines that the meaning of the poem is exposed with a series
Money can not describe how you are as a person or how you love a person. Through the words of F. Scott Fitzgerald he makes love and money have a meaning and not worth any time throughout the novel The Great Gatsby. F. Scott Fitzgerald was named after a famous ancestor of his Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald, was the lawyer and writer for “The Star Spangled Banner.” F. Scott Fitzgerald has many famous quotes, one that really caught my attention and made me think is “The loneliest moment in someone’s life
hard-hitting line of how our generation is “too loud, too radical, too sensitive, too selfish, too bastos.” The last word had a powerful impact on the audience, earning her both claps and the traditional poetic snaps all across the room. I did not know the meaning of that specific word but later on in her poems, she used other words like kapamilya, which I knew meant “family.” Understanding the Tagalog words added a lot more depth to her performances, but even when I didn’t understand that first word, I could
Alex Tizon, former journalist, Pulitzer Prize winner, and professor at the University of Oregon, details the events of his life in the memoir titled Big Little Man: In Search of My Asian Self. He begins his story in the Philippines, in search of not only the presence of a strong Asian man in the form of Lapu Lapu, a Filipino warrior, but also in search of his own identity. Although Tizon was born in the Philippines, his family had immigrated to America when he was a child. Growing up, Tizon had