There is apparently no more important story or issue right now at the Politico than Ted Widmer's question about our national anthem: "Is It Time to Ditch the Star-Spangled Banner?" It is currently the lead item at the web site, complete with a huge picture of the American flag. The "beheading by ISIL of a British aid worker" and Wisconsin's court-granted ability to implement voter-ID in the fall elections are both apparently less important.
Widmer's reasons to stop using the Star-Spangled Banner come down to the fact that Francis Scott Key was a slaveowner and that the song's third verse refers to escaped American slaves who were fighting on the British side (a commenter has asserted that it really refers to Hessians and British slaves; my guess is that it's all of the above). He somehow forgets that the British didn't outlaw slavery until 1833, 19 years after the 1814 Fort McHenry battle.
But really, how many people have ever been to an event where the song's third verse has been sung or played? You've already gotten your way, Ted. Let it be.
Besides, Widmer's suggested replacement, the admittedly outstanding "America the Beautiful," which may once have had a chance of supplanting the Banner as the nation's anthem, will have a hard time getting anywhere in today's politically correct, Christianity-hostile culture. Imagine the fights that would ensue over "God shed His grace on thee" — and that's in the first verse. Why, we might have atheist and Muslim protesters at every sporting event.
Let's close by showing with my personal favorite rendition of the Star Spangled Banner by Whitney Houston at the 1991 Super Bowl:
I agree with Chris Chase at Yahoo Sports that Houston delivered "the greatest national anthem in sports history."
Cross-posted at BizzyBlog.com.
