“And where is that band who so vauntingly swore
That the havoc of war and the battle’s confusion,
A home and a country, should leave us no more?
Their blood has washed out their foul footsteps’ pollution.
No refuge could save the hireling and slave
From the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave:
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave,
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave”It seems that some have problems with the third stanza of the National Anthem. I would have no problem altering the wording to remove the offensive parts.
Rather than deleting “offensive” portions of a really old song, why don’t we just accept that it, like all art, is a product of its time? Please, let’s stop worshiping this song!
I would be able to do that, but I was thinking that maybe African Americans might not. In order to be respectful to them, I though maybe the words to the thirds verse should be changed.
EDIT: And aren’t you the guy that is supposed to be all about “respecting” our anthem?
I am about respecting it, yes.
Isn’t revising it for a modern audience disrespectful?
not if done carefully and minimally.
That third stanza should be left as is, and let’s be honest no one even knows that stanza exists,
google Star Spangled banner third stanza. You’ll see people talking about it and complaining about it.
as an example of why we shouldn’t worship a song. It’s not perfect.
I don’t worship it. For me, worship is reserved for God and Christ. No the song is not perfect, but I believe the ideals it represents are(freedom, justice, rights, equality, those sorts of things).
My point was that we shouldn’t have a national anthem at all.
Why not? Every country has one. What would be played when an American wins a gold medal at the olmpics if we didn’t have one?