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Our National anthem
Town Hall ^ | July 5, 2002 | Ben Shapiro

Posted on 08/01/2002 5:59:18 PM PDT by Brytani


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July 5, 2002

Our National anthem

O say, can you see, John Adams sat alone the night of July 2, 1776, writing to his wife, Abigail. "The second day of July 1776 will be the most memorable epocha in the history of America." Over the next two days, Congress would debate, edit and finally sign the Declaration of Independence. The world would never be the same.

By the dawn's early light,

George Washington peered from his small boat on a frigid Christmas night, 1777. He looked back at his weary, bone-cold soldiers, then across the icy Delaware River. Soon, they would attempt a daring surprise operation against Trenton. It would be a turning point in the War for Independence.

What so proudly we hailed

James Madison, relieved, affixed his name to the Constitution of the United States. The date was Sept. 17, 1787, and the document Madison signed would be the basis for a democratic republic, "a more perfect union."

At the twilight's last gleaming?

Praying "that heaven may continue to you the choicest tokens of its beneficence," George Washington stepped down as president of the United States with his Farewell Address in 1796, peacefully passing the mantle of leadership to John Adams.

Whose broad stripes and bright stars,

Francis Scott Key stood aboard a ship 8 miles downriver from Fort McHenry Sept. 13, 1814. He watched anxiously as British warships pounded the fort. As dawn broke, the 40-foot flag over the fort billowed majestically in the wind. Key excitedly spotted the flag, pulled out an envelope and began to write.

Through the perilous fight,

Robert E. Lee stood behind his line, overlooking Gettysburg. Sprawled across the field were countless bodies, Americans all, enemies in life, brothers in death. As the sun set on July 2, 1863, President Lincoln retired for the evening. The casualty statistics would not reach him for hours, but the magnitude of death was stunning. The outcome of the Civil War was very much in doubt.

O'er the ramparts we watched,

As freed slaves peeked over the barrier of slavery, Congress adopted the Fifteenth Amendment on March 30, 1870, guaranteeing that "the right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude."

Were so gallantly streaming?

Ten-year-old Harry Shapiro stood on deck, his eyes fixed on the Statue of Liberty. Having fled the pogroms of Russia, Shapiro later said that seeing the Statue was the greatest thrill of his life. The year was 1905, and two years later a record 1,285,349 immigrants flooded into the United States of America.

And the rockets' red glare,

"Above their wreath-strewn graves we kneel/They kept the faith and fought the fight./Through flying lead and crimson steel/They plunged for Freedom and the Right," penned Joyce Kilmer. At the age of 33, Kilmer volunteered for service in World War I. He was killed in France on July 30, 1918.

The bombs bursting in air,

On Aug. 6, 1945, an atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima. President Harry Truman stated: "Let there be no mistake; we shall completely destroy Japan's power to make war." By dropping the bomb, Truman effectively ended World War II and saved hundreds of thousands of American lives.

Gave proof through the night

Sgt. William Port and his platoon moved swiftly through the undergrowth of Vietnam Jan. 12, 1968. Suddenly, a burst of heavy gunfire began, forcing the platoon back. Despite being wounded by the gunfire, Port dragged a downed friend to the platoon perimeter. When an enemy grenade was thrown into their bunker, Port leapt on it. Left for dead, taken as a POW, he died of starvation and his wounds.

That our flag was still there

As the smoke, dust and flame rose from mid-Manhattan, three firefighters stood atop the rubble of the World Trade Center, amid the gravesites of thousands, and raised an American flag. Two hundred miles south, rescue workers lowered a flag over the side of the Pentagon. It was Sept. 11, 2001.

O say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave

"The course of this conflict is not known, yet its outcome is certain. Freedom and fear, justice and cruelty, have always been at war, and we know that God is not neutral between them." -- President George W. Bush, Sept. 20, 2001

O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

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TOPICS: Culture/Society; Editorial; Free Republic; Government; Miscellaneous
KEYWORDS: defense; nationalanthem; patrotism
This has to be the best written piece I've ever read on our National Anthem.
1 posted on 08/01/2002 5:59:18 PM PDT by Brytani
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To: Brytani
Oh, say can you see, by the dawn's early light,
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming?
Whose broad stripes and bright stars, through the perilous fight,
O'er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming?
And the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there.
O say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

On the shore, dimly seen through the mists of the deep,
Where the foe's haughty host in dread silence reposes,
What is that which the breeze, o'er the towering steep,
As it fitfully blows, now conceals, now discloses?

Now it catches the gleam of the morning's first beam,
In full glory reflected now shines on the stream:
'Tis the star-spangled banner! O long may it wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.

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 wiped out their foul footstep's 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.

Oh! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand
Between their loved homes and the war's desolation!
Blest with victory and peace, may the heaven-rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation.

Then conquer we must, for our cause it is just,
And this be our motto: "In God is our trust."
And the star-spangled banner forever shall wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

===========================

Included the verses nobody sings. You will note from the highlighted verses (my favorite is the next-to-last) that the Anthem itself is 'unconstitutional', since it mentions God.

--Boris

2 posted on 08/02/2002 7:10:29 AM PDT by boris
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To: boris
Actually, we sing that verse in church (the entire song of course), usually around one of the national holidays.
3 posted on 08/02/2002 7:12:59 AM PDT by fone
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To: boris
And this be our motto: "In God is our trust."

Are we to understand that our motto was actually coined prior to the 1950s? Tell it to the ACLU.

4 posted on 08/02/2002 7:27:01 AM PDT by skeeter
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To: skeeter
That's the first mention of Providence in a national anthem, but Francis Scott Key's thought goes back all the way to the Declaration of Independence where the Fathers appealed to the Supreme Judge of the World for the Rectitude Of Our Intentions.
5 posted on 08/02/2002 7:33:04 AM PDT by goldstategop
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