America"s ONLY National Anthem
Notwithstanding the uproar among students and parents at Capital High School in Charleston, West Virginia, €The Star Spangled Banner€ still remains the official national anthem of the United States of America and most Americans still revere it and some of us still get a lump in our throats whenever we hear it.
However, some people such as the African-American principal of Capital High, Clinton Giles, believe the so-called €Negro National Hymn€ aka €The African-American National Anthem€ aka €The African National Anthem€ must be revered as much as €The Star-Spangled Banner,€ our €Pledge of Allegiance,€ and the American flag.
Until the policy was ostensibly rescinded (See below) following student and parent objections, Capital High students were expected to respectfully stand for the Pledge, the National Anthem - no problem there - and the playing of €Lift Every Voice and Sing€ and they were punished if they refused to acknowledge what some called the €other anthem.€
Giles' favored anthem seems innocuous at first, until one considers the source - black racial agitator and community organizer James Weldon Johnson - and examines its lyrics.
For example, the first stanza begins with lofty rhetoric and sentiments: €Lift every voice and sing/ till earth and heav'n ring,/ Ring with the harmonies of liberty/... Sing a song full of the faith/that the dark past has taught us,€ then concludes with the line, €Let us march on till victory is won.€
Of course, America has no €other anthem€ aside from €The Star Spangled Banner€ - except in Giles' alternate universe - and lines such as €Let us march on till victory is won€ smack more of conflict and protest and revolution than they do of peace and stability and patriotism. The song would be fine in South Africa but has no place in a twenty-first century American public school any more than the white racist ditties of Johnny Rebel.
Fortunately, there are saner, more patriotic voices out there, notably a popular, new hard rock group known as Madison Rising who have recorded a video performance of America's only, true national anthem which will knock the socks off everyone who hears it - except perhaps the socks of Principal Giles and the rest of his ilk.
Watch Madison Rising's rousing, impassioned video rendition of €The Star Spangled Banner." (Mr. Giles, you may remain seated.)
At first glance, the talented members of Madison Rising evoke memories of the worn-out hippie culture of negativism, revolution, and chaos but scratch beneath their surface appearance and you find an exceptional group of young men who clearly and deeply love our country and aren't afraid of expressing their politically-incorrect patriotic fervor.
Named in honor of America's fourth president James Madison, co-author of the €Federalist Papers,€ €Father of the Constitution€ and author of our €Bill of Rights,€ Madison Rising represents the antithesis of all that is wrong in our country today.
From individuals like Giles who foster racial division rather than national unity to groups like the ACLU that regularly intrudes itself into matters that are anti-American to institutions like Butler University which condoned a professor's demand that students disregard their €American-ness,€ America is under attack from within unequalled since the 1930€s by forces dedicated to destroying everything we have traditionally valued and respected.
Madison Rising's band members Dave Bray, Christopher Schreiner, Alex Bodnar, Sam Fishman, and Steve Padelski are standing up not for a quirky principal's idea of a national anthem but for what they believe and revere and against leftist encroachments on our traditions and ideals.
Madison Rising has issued a €Five Million Star Spangled Challenge€ to America to show €that we still believe in this country and our National Anthem.€
As the group announced on its website, €We reached our initial goal of 1 million views by Election Day (November 6th) on September 14, 2012€"a full 7 weeks earlier than expected. Now we're upping the ante. Take the NEW Challenge: Help Madison Rising reach 5 million views by July 4th of next year and let's celebrate what being an American is all about!€ Join the challenge!
(Incidentally, the mandated policy change at Capital High School is farcical. It calls for students to €stand, or sit silently€ as €The Star Spangled Banner,€ the Pledge of Allegiance and €Lift Every Voice and Sing€ are all played on the school's public address system. €Lift Every Voice€ is given equal footing with our only national anthem and, insult to injury, American high school kids have been offered the option of sitting on their duffs while €The Star Spangled Banner€ is played. Principal Giles must be tickled pink.)
(See all sources at http://www.genelalor.com/blog1/?p=29033.)
However, some people such as the African-American principal of Capital High, Clinton Giles, believe the so-called €Negro National Hymn€ aka €The African-American National Anthem€ aka €The African National Anthem€ must be revered as much as €The Star-Spangled Banner,€ our €Pledge of Allegiance,€ and the American flag.
Until the policy was ostensibly rescinded (See below) following student and parent objections, Capital High students were expected to respectfully stand for the Pledge, the National Anthem - no problem there - and the playing of €Lift Every Voice and Sing€ and they were punished if they refused to acknowledge what some called the €other anthem.€
Giles' favored anthem seems innocuous at first, until one considers the source - black racial agitator and community organizer James Weldon Johnson - and examines its lyrics.
For example, the first stanza begins with lofty rhetoric and sentiments: €Lift every voice and sing/ till earth and heav'n ring,/ Ring with the harmonies of liberty/... Sing a song full of the faith/that the dark past has taught us,€ then concludes with the line, €Let us march on till victory is won.€
Of course, America has no €other anthem€ aside from €The Star Spangled Banner€ - except in Giles' alternate universe - and lines such as €Let us march on till victory is won€ smack more of conflict and protest and revolution than they do of peace and stability and patriotism. The song would be fine in South Africa but has no place in a twenty-first century American public school any more than the white racist ditties of Johnny Rebel.
Fortunately, there are saner, more patriotic voices out there, notably a popular, new hard rock group known as Madison Rising who have recorded a video performance of America's only, true national anthem which will knock the socks off everyone who hears it - except perhaps the socks of Principal Giles and the rest of his ilk.
Watch Madison Rising's rousing, impassioned video rendition of €The Star Spangled Banner." (Mr. Giles, you may remain seated.)
At first glance, the talented members of Madison Rising evoke memories of the worn-out hippie culture of negativism, revolution, and chaos but scratch beneath their surface appearance and you find an exceptional group of young men who clearly and deeply love our country and aren't afraid of expressing their politically-incorrect patriotic fervor.
Named in honor of America's fourth president James Madison, co-author of the €Federalist Papers,€ €Father of the Constitution€ and author of our €Bill of Rights,€ Madison Rising represents the antithesis of all that is wrong in our country today.
From individuals like Giles who foster racial division rather than national unity to groups like the ACLU that regularly intrudes itself into matters that are anti-American to institutions like Butler University which condoned a professor's demand that students disregard their €American-ness,€ America is under attack from within unequalled since the 1930€s by forces dedicated to destroying everything we have traditionally valued and respected.
Madison Rising's band members Dave Bray, Christopher Schreiner, Alex Bodnar, Sam Fishman, and Steve Padelski are standing up not for a quirky principal's idea of a national anthem but for what they believe and revere and against leftist encroachments on our traditions and ideals.
Madison Rising has issued a €Five Million Star Spangled Challenge€ to America to show €that we still believe in this country and our National Anthem.€
As the group announced on its website, €We reached our initial goal of 1 million views by Election Day (November 6th) on September 14, 2012€"a full 7 weeks earlier than expected. Now we're upping the ante. Take the NEW Challenge: Help Madison Rising reach 5 million views by July 4th of next year and let's celebrate what being an American is all about!€ Join the challenge!
(Incidentally, the mandated policy change at Capital High School is farcical. It calls for students to €stand, or sit silently€ as €The Star Spangled Banner,€ the Pledge of Allegiance and €Lift Every Voice and Sing€ are all played on the school's public address system. €Lift Every Voice€ is given equal footing with our only national anthem and, insult to injury, American high school kids have been offered the option of sitting on their duffs while €The Star Spangled Banner€ is played. Principal Giles must be tickled pink.)
(See all sources at http://www.genelalor.com/blog1/?p=29033.)
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