Oh Say Can You See

You know, all this controversy with the Star-Spangled Banner and the Philadelphia Eagles and the President got me thinking.  Where did it all start.

We all know that Francis Scott Keys wrote the lyrics come from "Defence of Fort M'Henry", a poem written on September 14, 1814, by the then 35-year-old lawyer and amateur poet Francis Scott Key after witnessing the bombardment of Fort McHenry
and observed that the fort's smaller "storm flag" continued to fly, but once the shell and  rocket barrage had stopped, he would not know how the battle had turned out until dawn. On the morning of September 14, the storm flag had been lowered and the larger flag had been raised.

During the bombardment, HMS Terror and the HMS Meteor provided some of the "bombs bursting in air".

The 15-star, 15-stripe "Star-Spangled Banner" that inspired the poem

Key was inspired by the U.S. victory and the sight of the large U.S. Flag   flying triumphantly above the fort. This flag, with fifteen stars and fifteen stripes, had been made by Mary  Young Pickersgill  together with other workers in her home on Baltimore's Pratt Street. The flag later came to be known as the Star-Spangled Banner  and is today on display in the National Museum of American History,  a treasure of the Smithsonian Institution.   

The song gained popularity throughout the 19th century and bands played it during public events, such as July 4th celebrations.

A plaque displayed at Fort Meade, South Dakota, claims that the idea of making "The Star Spangled Banner" the national anthem began on their parade ground in 1892. Colonel Caleb Carlton, Post Commander, established the tradition that the song be played "at retreat and at the close of parades and concerts." Carlton explained the custom to Governor Sheldon of South Dakota who "promised me that he would try to have the custom established among the state militia." Carlton wrote that after a similar discussion, Secretary of War, Daniel E. Lamont issued an order that it "be played at every Army post every evening at retreat."

In 1899, the U.S. Navy officially adopted "The Star-Spangled Banner".  In 1916, President Woodrow Wilson ordered that "The Star-Spangled Banner" be played at military and other appropriate occasions. The playing of the song two years later during the 7th inning stretch of Game One of the 1918 World Series  and thereafter during each game of the series is often cited as the first instance that the anthem was played at a baseball game.  There is a great story here - (From the History Channel )  "Yet even though the event featured two teams at the top of their games, the crowd was somber that day, writes ESPN The Magazine. Since entering the Great War a year and a half ago, more than 100,000 U.S. soldiers had died. And just a day before the game, a bomb had exploded in Chicago, (the city in which the game was held), killing four people and injuring dozens more. In addition, the U.S. government had recently announced that it would begin drafting major league baseball players.
All this sat heavy on the shoulders of both the players and the smaller-than-usual crowd of fans that day. But during the seventh-inning stretch, the U.S. Navy band began to play the Star-Spangled Banner; and something changed.

As the song began, Red Sox infielder Fred Thomas—who was in the Navy and had been granted furlough to play in the World Series—immediately turned toward the American flag and gave it a military salute, according to the Chicago Tribune. Other players turned to the flag with hands over hearts, and the already-standing crowd began to sing. At the song’s conclusion, the previously quiet fans erupted in thunderous applause. At the time, the New York Times reported that it “marked the highest point of the day’s enthusiasm.” The song would be played at each of the Series’ remaining games, to increasingly rapturous response. And patriotism played a part right from the start, as the Red Sox gave free tickets to wounded veterans and honored them during the playing of the Star-Spangled Banner before the start of the decisive Game 6."

President Hoover signed the bill on March 4, 1931, officially adopting "The Star-Spangled Banner" as the national anthem of the United States of America.

Now here is an interesting FACT - When the U.S. national anthem was first recognized by law in 1931, there was no prescription as to behavior during its playing.   It wasn't until 1942 saluting and taking ones hat off came into play.

Since 1998, federal law (viz., the United States Code 36 U.S.C states that during a rendition of the national anthem, when the flag is displayed, all present including those in uniform should stand at attention; Non-military service individuals should face the flag with the right hand over the heart; Members of the Armed Forces and veterans who are present and not in uniform may render the military salute; military service persons not in uniform should remove their headdress with their right hand and hold the headdress at the left shoulder, the hand being over the heart; and Members of the Armed Forces and veterans who are in uniform should give the military salute at the first note of the anthem and maintain that position until the last note. The law further provides that when the flag is not displayed, all present should face toward the music and act in the same manner they would if the flag were displayed. Military law requires all vehicles on the installation to stop when the song is played and all individuals outside to stand at attention and face the direction of the music and either salute, in uniform, or place the right hand over the heart, if out of uniform. The law was amended in 2008, and since allows military veterans to salute out of uniform, as well.

The text of 36 U.S.C.  is suggestive and not regulatory in nature. Failure to follow the suggestions is not a violation of the law. This behavioral requirement for the national anthem is subject to the same First Amendment controversies that surround the Pledge of Allegiance.    For example, Jehovah's Witnesses do not sing the national anthem, though they are taught that standing is an "ethical decision" that individual believers must make based on their "conscience."

All this hooting and hollering lately about the Star Spangled Banner and the NFL seems to me to be up to the individual and shouldn't even be dictated by the NFL  it is suggested and not regulatory to stand.  It says you should stand and not you have to stand.  

Yes, we do it out of respect for what the flag stands for in the song.  But even the song has been debated.  It is hard to sing.  The music for the our National Anthem was written by John Stafford Smith, who was from England.  The tune was from "The Anacreontic Song" was the official song of the Anacreontic Society in England.  The Anacreontic Society was a gentlemen's club of the kind that was popular in London in the late eighteenth century.  The Society was dedicated to the ancient Greek poet Anacreon, who was renowned for his drinking songs and odes to love. Its members, who consisted mainly of wealthy men of high social rank, would meet on Wednesday evenings to combine musical appreciation with eating and drinking.  LOL - I don't know why this makes me laugh, it just does.  Because the tune of the Star Spangled Banner is from a drinking song! 

But it all boils down to this - It is a National Anthem, no matter how it got there.  It stands freedom.  The flag flies for a country "which is the land of the free and the home of the brave" .  It stands for liberty and justice for all.  You know, I think our Country has forgotten this.   The flag isn't to be worship, it's not an idol, it is a symbol.  I don't think we are the people we use to be.  We are slowly loosing our freedoms.  We are being told more and more how to act, who to like and what to be.  We are loosing our voice in government.  We are a people divided and that's not good.  That is not what America is.  

For me, I stand and put my hand over my heart at baseballs games.  I even stand at home.  And patriotic songs make shed a tear.  I love America, but I am worried as to where we are headed.

For me...this is another day in Catasauqua.