I’m writing something different today, but it’s more important than any sports essay I have ever penned. As a sportswriter, I get to see the National Anthem performed before events all the time. It never gets old for me. I remove my hat, I lovingly place my right hand over my heart and I sing those sweet, sweet words with as clear a second tenor and as deep a passion as I sang them with my a capella group before football games at Trinity College.
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           Two unpalatable positions prompted me to write this piece. First, people say the Star Spangled Banner is too difficult a song to sing. Even though it is written in the key of F and is high even for tenors, with practice and with a little pride from the heart, it’s actually remarkably easy. Second, the odious traitor Cindy Sheehan wrote a shockingly discreditable piece of invective railing against the flag as her idea of a gift to America on July 4th this year. I won’t give you the web address as I don’t want to increase traffic to her site – a sit which by the way averages between 8-15 people per day – but I will tell you what the national anthem means to me and hopefully, by explaining its historical place in history, make it easier and more fun to sing for you.
           I love my country, right or wrong. Are we perfect? Of course we’re not. But “united we stand, divided we fall;” truer words were never spoken. In this age where the forces of chaos, destruction, jealousy, bigotry and fascism wrongfully try to paint our country and leaders as “evil,” we must stand together to show the world such a vision is horribly, horribly wrong. Planting the seeds of hate abroad just to see one politician – be they republican, democrat, independent, or any other party – is the height of folly and ruins the country as a whole, not just one man or party.
           Francis Scott Key wrote the Star Spangled Banner one morning after a battle of the War of 1812. As he went to bed that night, his last sight was Old Glory standing sentinel over the fort while the mighty British navy battered the ragtag, overmatched American defenders. Key was deeply disheartened. He expected the fort to fall to the British by dawn and the stars and stripes to be replaced by the Union Jack.
           Our country was a mere thirty-six years young. We were besieged on all sides by stronger enemies. The Spanish, the French, the English and many other nations would greedily have picked us apart in those dark times. Survival of our fledgling democracy was not as certain as it is today. At that one place at that one time, the battle was a microcosm of our country’s destiny.
           We all know what happened. The tide turned. When Key awoke, the stars and stripes still blew gloriously, joyously, fervently in the wind. So with that in mind, let’s take a closer look at the beautiful, heartfelt words of a man who loved his country as much as you or I do.
Oh say, can you see by the dawn’s early light
           What so proudly we hailed at the twilight’s last gleaming?
“Proudly” – there’s a word I always accent strongly when I sing the anthem. That’s the critical word, the lynchpin of the couplet, the source of the inspiration. He went to bed with a tear in his eye, believing he’d said goodbye to his flag – the symbol of his homeland, the one icon we all know, cherish, revere and unite under. And behold! Against all odds, there it was, boldly and nobly flying in the face of the confounded enemy battering the gates of our homes.
Whose broad stripes and bright stars
“Broad” stripes! “Bright” stars! Accent those words the next time you sing the anthem! See if it doesn’t bring a tear to your eye. You’ll never look the same way at the flag again and you’ll be better for it.
Through the perilous fight
“Perilous” – it’s an appropriate word for those dark times and these as well. Safety, security, and prosperity were not guaranteed then. If you think they are a given now, you are mistaken. We’ve lived through September 11th. Pray none of us ever sees a black day like that again. It is the bane of our country if we forget who the real enemy is.
           O’er the ramparts we watched
           Were so gallantly streaming
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           “Gallant” – that’s another brilliant, well-chosen word. We have lost the meaning of the word these days. Is there anyone left who is gallant? Of course, but we don’t celebrate, respect, cherish and honor such virtues as valor, courage and self-sacrifice as deeply as we used to. That’s a product of our success and our increasingly self-indulgent, “on-demand” world. But now, every time you look at the flag, you can recall not only the word, but the sacrifice of those who defended her so that we might reap the benefit of the seeds they sewed and nurtured with their lives.
           And the rockets red glare, the bombs bursting in air
           Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there!
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           No matter how hard the enemy tried, they could not defeat our courage and spirit. The light from their many but futile weapons just illuminated the sky and with it the symbol of our country, brazenly standing in defiance to all they could muster.
           Oh say does that Star-Spangled Banner yet wave
           O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave.
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           Here, Key is imploring us to tell him that – no matter where he went or what he did, no matter how far from home, no matter what peril he was in – tell him that the flag still stands, and with it our spirit, virtue and unity.
           That’s what the National Anthem means to me. No matter how great the peril, how dark the hour, how strong the enemy, or how evil the times, our flag and our national anthem inspire my heart to burn warmly, mustering my strength, renewing my resolve, and galvanizing my fellow countrymen.
           The national anthem is hard to sing? Try it now…then again…then once more, with feeling. You’ll never look at those ten simple lines the same way again. We’ll all be better for it.
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