Posted on 06/08/2002 7:42:04 AM PDT by TaRaRaBoomDeAyGoreLostToday!
By TODD HARTMAN DENVER - Poudre High School's decision to play the World anthem for its graduation ceremony sparked an angry reaction from a parent who wanted to hear the national anthem and stirred a dust-up on talk radio this week. Gail Wagner, whose daughter graduated May 24, wrote a letter to the school principal, the district superintendent and the Denver Rocky Mountain News calling the anthem "an insipid little song about a world of peace and love" and an insult to America. She said it took the place of the national anthem. It did not, said Poudre High Principal Sandra Lundt. Lundt said she was surprised to find the decision scolded on Mike Rosen's KOA talk show and Peter Boyles' KHOW show Thursday morning. Lundt said the Fort Collins school has never played the national anthem at its graduation. "This was never meant to take the place of the national anthem," Lundt said. "It's an anthem that really celebrates every nation." Wagner's husband, Fred, and daughter, Erin, also opposed the playing of the world anthem. Erin said she was surprised "The Star Spangled Banner" wasn't played. "It didn't make much sense," Erin said. "We live in America, so they should have played it. I guess I would say I was offended." Lundt said the school's senior class council, a group of 15 to 20 students, participated in the decision to play the world anthem. The school's orchestra, band and choir teamed to perform the piece. The senior class council "was very excited about the opportunity," Lundt said, noting that one of the people who helped promote broader performance of the anthem, Ed Goodman, is a 1973 graduate of Poudre High. The world anthem was conceived in 1996 and completed by 2000. The idea behind the piece, according to the Web site www.worldanthem.org, is this: "We believe there is a wonderful way to bring a message of hope, healing, peace and unification to all people through the universal language of music ... to give the world a gift, to bring about a symbol for peace and a common spirit of trust toward the idea of one people, one world." Its creation, even those involved acknowledge, borders on the bizarre. Music from the anthems of every country in the world were combined in a computer. Using musicology software, a blended creation emerged. The same technique was used to produce the lyrics, according to Goodman. "This is not two bars of 'The Star Spangled Banner,' then a bar of 'O Canada,'" Goodman said. "It's more like if you took all the melodies, harmonies, rhythms and tempos and somehow were able to average them. ... It's very, very sophisticated; it took years of work to accomplish." This means, Goodman said, that the piece wasn't composed by any one person or any one nation. "The point of it was to have one song that all nations could share," he said. The piece has a significant history in Colorado. It was heard for the first time at the Denver Millennium Celebration on Dec. 31, 2000, at the stroke of midnight in conjunction with fireworks, according to historians of the anthem. In November 2001, the Colorado Symphony Orchestra provided the first live performance of the piece. Goodman said that even Air Force's Band of the Rockies is taken with the piece and arranging its own version. It's slated to be played at an upcoming global peace conference in Croatia and at a ceremony celebrating the 40th anniversary of the Peace Corps this summer. The Wagners are not impressed. "No matter how much the principal gushed over the privilege of being one of the first to hear this piece performed, we did not feel privileged or find it inspirational, heartwarming or moving," Gail Wagner wrote to the News.
Debate over anthem surprises principal
Scripps-McClatchy Western Service
June 07, 2002
Things are definitely getting kind of strange.
To lead us through the night
To see us through trying times
To a future bright.
Throughout the world
We sing our praise to peace,
Our bond of love
Will serve us true for
All as one for all.
Now the whole earth had one language and few words. And as men migrated from the east, they found a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there. And they said to one another, "Come, let us make bricks, and burn them thoroughly." And they had brick for stone, and bitumen for mortar. Then they said, "Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth."
And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which the sons of men had built. And the Lord said, "Behold, they are one people, and they have all one language; and this is only the beginning of what they will do; and nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them. Come, let us go down, and there confuse their language, that they may not understand one another's speech."
So the Lord scattered them abroad from there over the face of the earth, and they left off building the city. Therefore its name was called Babel, because there the Lord confused the language of all the earth; and from there the Lord scattered them abroad over the face of the earth. -
Genesis 11.
< Tinfoil hat on >
"Mindshare" freaks will brainwash us all for globalization green peace new world order,we are the world load of crap.
About a planet taken over by techno commies...
From the album "2112"
I. Overture
Words and Music by Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson, and Neil Peart
"And the meek shall inherit the earth."
II. The Temples of Syrinx
Words by Neil Peart, Music by Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson
... "The massive grey walls of the Temples rise from the
heart of every Federation city. I have always been awed
by them, to think that every single facet of every life is
regulated and directed from within! Our books, our music,
our work and play are all looked after by the benevolent
wisdom of the priests..."
We've taken care of everything
The words you hear the songs you sing
The pictures that give pleasure to your eyes
It's one for all and all for one
We work together common sons
Never need to wonder how or why
We are the Priests of the Temples of Syrinx
Our great computers fill the hallowed halls
We are the Priests of the Temples of Syrinx
All the gifts of life are held within our walls
Look around this world we made
Equality our stock in trade
Come and join the Brotherhood of Man
Oh what a nice contented world
Let the banners be unfurled
Hold the Red Star proudly high in hand
We are the Priests of the Temples of Syrinx
Our great computers fill the hallowed halls.
We are the Priests of the Temples of Syrinx
All the gifts of life are held within our walls.
III. Discovery
Words by Neil Peart, Music by Alex Lifeson
... "Behind my beloved waterfall, in the little room that was
hidden beneath the cave, I found it. I brushed away the
dust of the years, and picked it up, holding it reverently in
my hands. I had no idea what it might be, but it was
beautiful" ...
... "I learned to lay my fingers across the wires, and to turn
the keys to make them sound differently. As I struck the
wires with my other hand, I produced my first harmonious
sounds, and soon my own music! How different it could
be from the music of the Temples! I can't wait to tell the
priests about it! ..."
What can this strange device be?
When I touch it, it gives forth a sound
It's got wires that vibrate and give music
What can this thing be that I found?
See how it sings like a sad heart
And joyously screams out its pain
Sounds that build high like a mountain
Or notes that fall gently like rain
I can't wait to share this new wonder
The people will all see its light
Let them all make their own music
The Priests praise my name on this night
IV. Presentation
Words by Neil Peart, Music by Alex Lifeson
... "In the sudden silence as I finished playing, I looked up
to a circle of grim, expressionless faces. Father Brown
rose to his feet, and his somnolent voice echoed
throughout the silent Temple Hall." ...
... "Instead of the grateful joy that I expected, they were
words of quiet rejection! Instead of praise, sullen
dismissal. I watched in shock and horror as Father Brown
ground my precious instrument to splinters beneath his
feet..."
I know it's most unusual
To come before you so
But I've found an ancient miracle
I thought that you should know
Listen to my music
And hear what it can do
There's something here as strong as life
I know that it will reach you
Yes, we know it's nothing new
It's just a waste of time
We have no need for ancient ways
The world is doing fine
Another toy will help destroy
The elder race of man
Forget about your silly whim
It doesn't fit the plan
I can't believe you're saying
These things just can't be true
Our world could use this beauty
Just think what we might do
Listen to my music
And hear what it can do
There's something here as strong as life
I know that it will reach you
Don't annoy us further
We have our work to do
Just think about the average
What use have they for you?
Another toy will help destroy
The elder race of man
Forget about your silly whim
It doesn't fit the plan
V. Oracle: The Dream
Words by Neil Peart, Music by Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson
... "I guess it was a dream, but even now it all seems so
vivid to me. Clearly yet I see the beckoning hand of the
oracle as he stood at the summit of the staircase" ...
... "I see still the incredible beauty of the sculptured cities
and the pure spirit of man revealed in the lives and works
of this world. I was overwhelmed by both wonder and
understanding as I saw a completely different way to life,
a way that had been crushed by the Federation long ago. I
saw now how meaningless life had become with the loss
of all these things ..."
I wandered home though the silent streets
And fell into a fitful sleep
Escape to realms beyond the night
Dream can't you show me the light?
I stand atop a spiral stair
An oracle confronts me there
He leads me on light years away
Through astral nights, galactic days
I see the works of gifted hands
That grace this strange and wondrous land
I see the hand of man arise
With hungry mind and open eyes
They left the planet long ago
The elder race still learn and grow
Their power grows with purpose strong
To claim the home where they belong
Home, to tear the Temples down...
Home, to change..
VI. Soliloquy
Words by Neil Peart, Music by Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson
... "I have not left this cave for days now, it has become
my last refuge in my total despair. I have only the music of
the waterfall to comfort me now. I can no longer live
under the control of the Federation, but there is no other
place to go. My last hope is that with my death I may pass
into the world of my dream, and know peace at last."
The sleep is still in my eyes
The dream is still in my head
I heave a sigh and sadly smile
And lie a while in bed
I wish that it might come to pass
Not fade like all my dreams
Just think of what my life might be
In a world like I have seen
I don't think I can carry on
Carry on this cold and empty life
Oh...noo!
My spirits are low in the depths of despair
My lifeblood spills over..
VII. Grand Finale
Music by Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson, and Neil Peart
Attention all Planets of the Solar Federation
Attention all Planets of the Solar Federation
Attention all Planets of the Solar Federation
We have assumed control.
We have assumed control.
We have assumed control.
I will continue to stand on my premise that denver is NOT part of Colorado.
nothingnew in Durango, CO
FMCDH
If they EVER play it at any pubic event--a baseball game, for instance--that I attend, I'll walk out.
Could any theologians explain why God would do this?
And to think folks that warned of this crap years ago using the original term NEW WORLD ORDER, were called loony nut wackos.
Something really has to be done about these Marxists running the schools these days. If we don't, we won't have a country in another generation.
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.