Alexandria, VA – Wow, does it get any more patriotic: a US Air Force, Navy, and Air National Guard flyover combined with the reverent, soulful strains of Charlie Puth’s “Star-Spangled Banner” at Super Bowl LX?! As a veteran, I always get a little teary-eyed hearing our national anthem; the video of the saluting 332d Air Expeditionary Wing members pushed me over the edge as my heart swelled with pride for our nation.
Most of us can’t remember a time when the United States had no national anthem. I recall as a kid watching television stations play the “Star-Spangled Banner” when signing off at night. It is an integral part of the Olympic games, and of course, all manner of sporting events.
We all learned the history of the song, written as a poem by Francis Scott Key after he witnessed the British bombardment of Fort McHenry during the War of 1812 and, interestingly, then put to the tune of a British social club’s drinking song! It was popular through the 1800s, often performed at military ceremonies and even documented at a baseball game in 1862 during the Civil War. As with the military flyover, the 1918 World Series boosted the tradition of pairing the song with sports events, when a military band spontaneously played it during the seventh-inning stretch. However, it was not our official national anthem until March 3, 1931, when President Herbert Hoover signed it into law.
A national anthem, hymn, or song can arouse great feelings of patriotism by expressing a nation’s identity and values and chronicling its history and traditions. It can be recognized officially by a nation’s government, or hold the designation by tradition. For example, prior to 1931, “My Country ‘Tis of Thee” had served as America’s de facto national hymn, while many people still today consider “God Bless America” our unofficial national anthem.
Most modern nation-states today have a designated national anthem. The majority are either marches or hymns, and some are easier to sing than others. Based on a measuring system devised by sociologist Karen Cerulo, the “Star-Spangled Banner,” with its 1.5 octaves, is one of the hardest. We all have heard some pretty horrible renditions to prove that point! Unlike other national anthems, ours also tends to be performed in different styles, anything from the gravitas of the original to country-western to the psychedelic version by Jimi Hendrix.
Today, we hear the “Star-Spangled Banner” so often at games that it sometimes becomes routine. People usually stand, some place right hands over their hearts, some men remove their hats, soldiers salute, but some people ignore it altogether. And although most people can sing the first five words, they generally mumble through the rest of the song. A recent poll reports that two-thirds of Americans do not know all the words to the first verse of their own national anthem! Wait, what? There are four verses?!
Not long ago, our national anthem was at the center of a national First Amendment debate, when Colin Kaepernick of the San Francisco 49ers began a protest movement using it to call attention to social injustice. By its nature, a national anthem is political, meaning different things to different people. But no matter your position on the topic, you have the right to your opinion in this “…land of the free and the home of the brave.”
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If you are a veteran or know a veteran who needs help, go to Virginia Board Veterans Services at www.dvs.virginia.gov/dvs; or contact American Legion Post 24 Veteran Service Officer at [email protected]. For crisis intervention and suicide prevention, dial 988 and Press 1, or text 838255 for the Veterans Crisis Line.
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