The Latest Flap At My Daughter's EX High School

[dales]

I'm glad she graduated in 2007 and went on to much better things.

High school students ban national anthem from pep rallies. What the heck?

The Star Spangled Banner will no longer be played at rallies at California High School in San Ramon after student leaders determined the song is racially insensitive.

“It was brought to our attention that the national anthem’s third verse is outdated and racially offensive, wrote the president of the school’s Associated Study Body. “We had nothing but good intentions by removing the song so that we could be fully inclusive to our student body.”

The decision to eliminate the national anthem from student rallies has resulted in a significant amount of backlash from patriotic students and residents.

“There’s been a lot of push back on the removal of the anthem – and not just from conservatives,” senior Dennis Fiorentino said on the Todd Starnes Radio Show.

Fiorentinos, who was a guest Tuesday on my nationally syndicated radio program, said he was shocked when he realized the national anthem had been banned.

“It’s important that we honor and respect those who sacrificed their lives protecting the freedom that us Americans take for granted every day,” he said.

On a side note, kudos to the student journalists at California High School who first reported this story and did so with a fair writing a fair and balanced report. It’s refreshing to see solid journalism from The Californian.

The student body president posted a letter on the high school’s website defending the decision to ban the song by citing a third verse that references “the hireling and slave.”

There is widespread debate among historians as to what Francis Scott Key was alluding to in the lyrics.

Regardless, only the first verse is traditionally sung at sporting events or public gatherings.

“This verse translated, finds joy in the killing of African-Americans,” the student government president alleged. “To think that our nation’s anthem once had the word slave and ‘land of the free’ in the same sentence leaves me speechless.”

No, just brainless.

I have chosen not to identify the student government leader because the student is under age.

“Moving forward, we must take action and be inclusive to all,” the student body president wrote. “This song was written in 1814. That was written 204 years ago. Imagine all the traditions and laws that have changed.”

“As our culture shifts to one that is more diverse and accepting of all types of people, so must our traditions,” the student government leader wrote. “And although we understand that this anthem represents pride and patriotism in our country to many people, we believe that there are other ways that this can be accomplished without an expense to inclusivity on our campus.”

Okay – enough of this nonsense. Where are the grownups in charge of this public school?

I reached out to the San Ramon Valley School District for a comment – as did several San Francisco television stations – but so far – they are not commenting.

However, a leadership adviser (a grownup) told the student newspaper that she agreed the national anthem is “problematic” and should have been removed.

Well, that’s just great. The teacher is actually encouraging young people to disrespect American values and traditions. It’s unacceptable and inexcusable.

The Star Spangled Banner may have survived the bombs bursting in air, but it may not be able to withstand the rampaging mob of politically correct inclusivism.

[Scooter]

The third verse:

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 wash'd 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.

First, no one sings the third verse. I doubt if most Americans have ever even seen the third verse.

Second, from the context of the song and from the first few lines of the verse, it is clear that he is broadly referencing the British military forces, who in the view of American propaganda at the time, were fighting the War of 1812 in an attempt to undo the result of the Revolutionary War. The "hireling and slave" may be a reference to the British use of mercenaries and slaves who were promised freedom if they fought for the British, or perhaps Americans who were impressed into British military service because they were still seen as British subjects. Either way, the verses appear to be speaking to the fate of those who took up arms against the United States, rather than celebrating hunting down and killing black slaves.

Third, precipitously dropping the anthem based on such a superficial interpretation of the verses shows all involved to be intellectually stunted.

[Lord Jim]

Oh, good night nurse...

Okay – enough of this nonsense. Where are the grownups in charge of this public school?

This.

precipitously dropping the anthem based on such a superficial interpretation of the verses shows all involved to be intellectually stunted.

And this.

[Burning Petard]

Yes indeed, where are the grown ups? Why is the national anthem played at all at 'pep rally'? Unless it is a manifestation of 'sport' as our national, established religion.

snailgate.

[Big RR]

I agree it's based on a silly interpretation of the words, but so what if it is banned from pep rallies; why would it be played at them in the first place? It's not played when I walk into the grocery store, or in court rooms, or when I attend a town council meeting, or any other number of activities I participate in; what's so special about a high school pep rally?

Sorry BP, I missed your post

[Scooter]

I think there is a "so what" if, in an institution of learning, an action is taken out of ignorance and/or stupidity. It's like the uproar over the use of the word "niggardly" because people who were both ignorant and stupid were mistaken about its etymology.

[Big RR]

Perhaps, but if we didn't have this silly custom of playing the star spangled banner at pep rallies (and what is the reason for that action?) it wouldn't be a concern at all; and the language could be discussed in a more rational manner.

FWIW, I always hated the last verse of the SSB for the statement "Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just, And this be our motto, In god is out trust", a simple excuse for manifest destiny and all the havoc it brought; I recall having to sing or recite it every day in elementary school as part of the daily flag salute, and even then it bothered me that we should conquer in the name of god.

[Burning Petard]

Me, I like that verse, Big R. " Then conquer we must WHEN OUR CAUSE IT IS JUST." Is it 'just' in Syria or Afghanistan or Africa now or are we there 'just' because we can't stand the embarrassment of pulling out, admitting we are very bad at nation building? and trust God, not POTUS.

snailgate

[Big RR]

Well, it allows for interpretation, like it is just something to do, or just a way to boost the president's poll numbers.

[BoSoxGal]

Whatever the faulty logic for getting rid of it, I have no objection to it being gotten rid of. This country doesn’t need anymore jingoism than we’ve already got going.

And as an aside, I’d really love to see the the Key tune dropped in favor of America the Beautiful; a celebration of our beautiful geography and nobler virtues seems a more fitting tribute rather than a song focused on war, not to mention written by a slaveholding Confederate sympathizer.

[Lord Jim]

I don't know why this school was having the anthem played at pep rallies in the first place, (we didn't at my high school) but I'm 100% with Scooter on this one...

I think there is a "so what" if, in an institution of learning, an action is taken out of ignorance and/or stupidity

I think that's the primary point here, and hits the nail right on the head...

An institution that is supposed to be dedicated to education making policy decisions based on ignorance and/or stupidity is a very bad look...

I have no objection to it being gotten rid of. This country doesn’t need anymore jingoism than we’ve already got going.

I think a decision like this (especially in the current environment) plays right into the hands of the "See? Our American values are under attack" crowd...

Hannity, Coulter, Limbaugh et al will have a field day with this...

[RayThom]

Poetry has so many interpretations.

Semantic perception, perhaps?

[Bicycle Bill]

I agree it's based on a silly interpretation of the words, but so what if it is banned from pep rallies; why would it be played at them in the first place? It's not played when I walk into the grocery store, or in court rooms, or when I attend a town council meeting, or any other number of activities I participate in; what's so special about a high school pep rally?

Because for whatever highfalutin' ideal they try to trot out as the reason — "to be more inclusive", whateverthefuck that is supposed to mean — it is still censorship, pure and simple.  Banning the National Anthem because of the way the third verse of some narrative poem was written over two hundred years ago ("The Defence of Fort McHenry" was penned by physician/amateur poet Francis Scott Key in 1814; a first printing of the poem is in the Library of Congress — view the .pdf at https://www.loc.gov/item/ihas.100010457/ if you don't believe me) is no better than Russian attempts to suppress literature by political dissidents, the Taliban's efforts to destroy anything that even hints that there might be any other deity than Allah — as they have chosen to understand and interpret him, or even those misguided politicians of the McCarthy era and their infamous Hollywood blacklist of 'Communist sympathizers'.

Now more than ever, people's eyes need to be wide open, not clenched shut.  Your point that the "Star Spangled Banner" is not appropriate in the setting of a pep rally might indeed be valid and a subject for reasonable discussion .... but there should be NO prohibition against playing it if they so desire.  Nodding your head, puppet-like, and saying "So what? They don't need to play it at pep rallies anyway" is just putting your blinders on that much tighter.

Let this continue and we will soon find ourselves all living in the past.... specifically, "Nineteen Eighty-Four".

-"BB"-

[Big RR]

Jim--

I think a decision like this (especially in the current environment) plays right into the hands of the "See? Our American values are under attack" crowd...

Hannity, Coulter, Limbaugh et al will have a field day with this...

You're likely right, but should we let concern about what those jerks will say determine anyone's course of action?

[rubato]

They are Highschool students. We want them to explore, investigate, have the courage to make up their own minds and even the courage to be mistaken once in a while. High school students are works very early in process, making mistakes is the most valuable part of learning. Untwist your knickers. we do not suffer from a lack of repetition of the SSB.


yrs,
rubato

[Crackpot]

It is also part of growing up to learn to get the facts before you act.

[Big RR]

BB--re the SSB, you state

there should be NO prohibition against playing it if they so desire.

Isn't that exactly what happened? The students who run the pep rally do not desire to have the SSB played at it. You can quibble with their reasons as to why they choose not to have it played, and I agree it is misguided, but they are under no obligation to play it anymore than they are under an obligation to play any other song, and to say their decision is somehow censorship strains credulity. They are censoring nothing--anyone who wants to is free to read, recite, and/or sing the SSB in the same places they are entitled to do the same with other songs, poems, writings; and if some students really want the SSB at the pep rallies, they can run for student government and change the rule, or they can petition to be heard and campaign to change the rule, or both. I see this as being a celebration of what makes us American, not a step toward the totalitarianism of 1984.

And as for the student expressing his/her/their reasoning behind the decision, they are as entitled to express their opinion(s) as any of us are; indeed, we should encourage such discussions, not condemn it, even if we vehemently disagree with it.

eta: Perhaps, but then they are changing a policy that is perfectly amenable to being changed. No one is under any obligation to play the SSB anywhere, and no one is injured by it not being played before a pep rally (and if some really want it to be played, they can do as I suggested above. Now if they sought to have Huckleberry Finn excluded from the library (or a dictionary that listed the word "niggardly"), I would be with you, but this is the equivalent of changing M&Ms to Reese's pieces because the red M&Ms are offensive to native Americans--silly, sure (although I'd bet there are some who might say that), but so what?

[Bicycle Bill]

Censors come in all shapes and sizes, even a school’s "Associated Study Body".  When someone says that something "WILL NOT BE PLAYED" (or sung, or observed, or shelved in the library), as opposed to "MIGHT NOT BE PLAYED" or "COULD POSSIBLY BE OMITTED", that's still censorship.

I may also have misread the article.  I got the impression that this was statewide in all California high schools, rather than one single high school (named 'California') in one single city.  However, it is still worth remembering that all catastrophic floods start with a single drop of water; and a single snowflake here, another one there, can eventually become a destructive avalanche.

-"BB"-

[rubato]

So they're censoring jingle bells if they don't play that? A radio station that refuses to play "drop kick me Jesus through the goalposts of life" is censoring that song? A bizarre misapplication of the idea of censorship, if you ask me.


yrs,
rubato

[Joe Guy]

Next up: High school students ban the American flag because it might make illegal alien students uncomfortable.