Posted on 10/11/2024 8:41:39 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
“’O’er the land of the freeeeeeee!’ everytime some chanteuse tries it at a Sports event.”
I cringe as the singer get closer to that phrase, just waiting to see if it’s going to happen.
My 13-year-old niece sings the Anthem before events at her school. She does it a capella, and pure.
You stand for “The Star Spangled Banner” and “The Hallelujah Chorus”. Anything else, ... it doesn’t matter.
I notice that most men at Trump rallies don’t remove their hats for it.
This last July, I was in Washington DC to gather with some friends. On one of the days I was there, my family and I visited the Smithsonian National American History Museum.
One of the things that was there, that I had completely forgotten was there, was the flag the song speaks of.
It’s on the 2nd floor Of the museum. As you walk in from the entrance, there is a wavy bunch of silver strips representing a waving flag With the words ‘The Star Spangled Banner’ above it. As you enter the exhibit , it goes up a slight ramp into a darkened , black walled area... and there it is on your left, behind glass... THE Star Spangled Banner itself. The very flag that Francis Scott Key saw flying over Fort McHenry on that September morning, so long ago. For a flag that’s over 200 years old, it looks surprisingly good. When I caught sight of it, I have to admit that I choked up and teared up.
I was thinking about all that flag represented. How one brand-new country stood up against what was then the biggest empire in the world...and WON. TWICE.
As you walk through the exhibit, there are artifacts and writings from the time. There are also exhibits of how the flag was preserved and cared for through the years.
At the end of the exhibit Are several representations Of the poem and the song. There is a picture of the original writing of Mr. Key’s poem. And, there are several manuscripts and pieces of sheet music with the song. In the background, repeating on a loop, is a very well done spliced together audio of various versions of the song. The last section of the audio is of the late Whitney Houston, singing the Anthem at the 1991 Super Bowl, which many consider one of the best renditions of the Anthem ever done.
In all honesty, seeing that exhibit gave me hope that somehow, we’re going to make it through the garbage we’re going through right now.
bttt
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.