62
Opinion
Page 4 University Daily Kansan, March 3, 1981
Fifty years ago today, Congress adopted "The Star-Spangled Banner" as the American national anthem. The United States finally got its theme song.
In triumph doth wave
Apparently there wasn't any great need for an official national song before 1931. And if it weren't for professional sports and late-night television sign-offs, the anthem itself would probably long ago been lost in obscurity.
The national anthem has come under a lot of criticism in that 50 years. After all, few Americans seem to know the words to the first stanza, and fewer still know there are three other stanzas to the song. It's been criticized as illegitimate, because the music was taken from the British. (But then, so was the country.)
And "The Star-Spangled Banner" seems curiously out of tune with modern values. We like to think of ourselves as a peace-
loving society (despite our internal crime problems), so this blatantly warrior militar ballad rubs us the wrong way. In 1981, it's hard to justify lyrics like, "Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just," and, "The terror or flight, or the gloom of the grave."
But then, national anthems tend to be like state songs—in a word, poor. The good anthems, like "God Save the Queen," are usually copied by other nations; we have our own cloan of it in "My Country 'Tis of Thee." Another good one, "Marseillaise," is already taken, and it's in French anyway.
As for the music itself, it's practically unsingable.
As a nation, you take what you can get. The one we have isn't perfect, but we can rest peacefully in the knowledge that no other country on earth is likely to steal it away from us.
Broad stripes, bright stars sparked Key's famous poem
The noise of the crowd quietens, and as if by some foreknown signal, you stand to face the flag
A band strikes up the first few chords, a lump forms in your throat, tears well in your eyes. Then, as that familiar tone rings out across the crowd of people, you join to sing the song immortalized in history—"The Star-Spangled Banner."
Today, March 3, is the 50th anniversary of the official adoption of "The Star-Spangled Banner"
PETER
SOMERVILLE
as the national anthem of the United States. Of the various national songs sung by Americans, "The Star-Spangled Banner" is officially recognized as the national anthem, although "America the Beautiful" and "My Country 'Ts of Thee' among them—are hardly less popular.
The origins of the "Star-Spangled Banner" go back to the year 1814 when British troops occupied Washington D.C. and were burning the Capitol, the executive mansion (later called the White House) in September 1814 the British fleet was anchored in Chesapeake Bay off Baltimore, MD, after the attack on Washington. A physician, William Beans, had been taken prisoner by British troops, and attorney Francis Scott Key was invited by friends to negotiate for Beans' release.
With a note from President Madison, and accompanied by Col. J. S. Skinner, a government agent for the exchange of prisoners, Key sailed down the bay by sloop, under a flag of truce, to meet the British fleet. The two were courteously received, and the release of Beans agreed upon. But as the fleet was about to sail up the Patapsc River to bombard Fort McHenry, the Americans were detained, first on the H.M.S. Surprise, and then on a supply ship.
During the night of Sept. 13-14, Key remained on deck anxiously watching the bombardment of Fort McHenry through the mist and drizzle. at daybreak he could see the U.S. flag flying above the fort, and, intensely moved, he began to write the words of his poem. Key would certainly have sung that line as his poem would eventually be sung by millions of Americans as their national anthem.
Over the years "The Star-Spangled Banner" has undergone revision at one stage the third time. It was published in 1950.
timent--but the song still remains one of the great national anthems.
The question as to how the tune came to be adapted to the poem is bogged down in polemics. It is known, however, that the first printing of the poem does identify the tune to be used. "To the song of the Anacreontic Society of London, a social, musical and masonic club that met at the Crown and Anchor Tavern. Although it was an English drinking song, the popular success of the tune was extraordinary; it was sung in all parts of England and can be found in early American songbooks.
The final two lines of each stanza have a delightful ironic twist in their reference to the Star-Spangled Banner triumphing "o'er the land of the free and the home of the brave." One line speaks to the Southern slave and the native American fetish upon hearing the words to this patriotic song.
And it is surprising that atheist and humanist pressure groups have not seen fit to have had the final stanza erased from the anthem. After all, the references to "the power that hath made and preserved us a nation" and "in God is our trust" must surely send a chill of regulation down the spines of certain members of the community. Here again we see enter the debate of whether history has been properly handed out what history has handed out to them. Perhaps that stanza has been left alone out of apathy—or because it has been overlooked by never being sung.
The love of one's country has been always among the strongest of human emotions. Some people feel it more strongly than others, but it is an emotion most keenly felt when traveling or living in distant parts of the world away from one's homeland. It is perhaps one of the sturdiest feelings that a person has of collective and confidence—and essentially an expression of faith in one's country.
The American nation is formed from a melting pot of different nationalities, so it has been the symbols of unity—the flag, the concepts of freedom and democracy and the national anthem—that have bound people together and molded the American identity.
Those who favor the adoption of "America the Beautiful" as the American national anthem oppose "The Star-Spangled Banner" for a number of quite legitimate reasons; it is too hard to sing; the tone is that of an English pub song; and it glorifies war. But "The Star-Spangled Banner" was used in the United States national anthem. It was born amid the turnol of a revolution that gave this country her independence, and what better song is there to celebrate America's coming of age?
Preparing for the El Salvador War
Old Doc Reagan figures America is ailing, and alley pleasing. Why, America's boys succumbed to the Reds in Vietnam, despite the nobility of their cause. Now the whole country's soldiers are dying from bad doctor care. Good doctor thinks the problem is in our heads, what those Eastern doctors call psychosomatic illness. After all, we still have as many bombs as we used to. So Doc Reagan has spun us up a fine home remedy. We're going to try it again, and we're going to send our boys to El Salvador.
America's political future is in a quandary. And, like Vietnam, it is feared that Communist-type nations will gain a strangle hold of the area. Cuba allegedly has shipped arms to the Marxist revolutionaries who held the guerrilla movement. As White House Press Secretary Mike Huckabee said, "We have clear evidence of catching China's hands in the cookie jar." Tsk, tsk.
Oh yes, we should bear in mind the succession of ruling military juntaes, which have asserted their ways ever since 1932 when 30,000 peasants were killed in an uprising. Just last month, the military government of political strife, U.S. officials say the murders were committed equally—roughly 50-50 by both the government and the guerrilla opposition. But the Catholic archdiocese in San Salvador claims that the government is responsible for assassinations. Amnesty International agrees.
Why is Doc Reagan concerned about tiny El Salvador, fourth poor nation in the Western Hemisphere? Well, like Vietnam, it is situated in a hotbed of public unrest. Central
What's the trouble with El Salvador? We've been sending them money and arms and military advisers for near 31 years now; you'd think they could keep in line. Well, we may have to learn to handle them. El Salvador's work force is unemployed or underemployed. Or maybe it's that the wealthiest 5 percent of the population holds 21 percent of the national income, while the rest hold 19 percent. And then there's the malnutrition which affects one-fourth of the children under 5.
Never mind that El Salvador's repressive government is butchering its citizens. The
KEVIN MILLS
Reds are moving in, and Doc Reagan wants them stopped. It's the traditional narcissistic American world view—us versus them. Our only concern about the Salvadorans is that they happen to live in El Salvador. It was the same situation in Vietnam, Americans versus Reds, and only after the war ended did we realize that the war had been fought between the Vietnamese. American involvement only complicated what was a civil war.
It's ironic that the American interest in El Salvador, as seen by the doc, is a purely defensive one. Ironic because the Salvadarons are seeking basically the same economic justice that prompted the American revolution. We know why they deny it; Salvadarons the same basic principle which we hold so dearly in our own country. Ironic because our defensive secrecy in El Salvador
will only be perceived in the long run as an offensively attack at bolstering American coloni-
Whether or not the guerrillas are receiving arms from Cuba and other Soviet-bloc nations is irrelevant. The guerrilla effort comprises not only Marxists but social democrats, moderate reformers and Catholic church leaders as well. The doctor's prescription of more military aid is suspect when one considers the number of Salvadorean soldiers who have defected to the insurgency. It is also possible that communism versus democracy, but repression versus freedom. If Cuba wants to eliminate the reppressive status quo, why don't we applaud their efforts rather than oppose them?
Doc Reagan would insist, of course, that the Cuban and Soviet influence would not stop with the overthrow of the current regime. And he probably would be right. But the issue to be resolved is no longer a military one once the revolution has failed or succeeded. It is a political one, and the decision rests with the Salvadoran people, not the American military. Doc Reagan has forgotten the story of the Ugly American.
And consider the Soviet reaction to American military involvement. The Soviets are already running scared, what with their tenuous grasp over their satellites having weakened and their own internal economic problems. They are struggling to survive, not thrive. Doe Reagan's tonic might be just the thing to make the Soviet Union reach for the nuclear trigger.
The doc is right; America is ailing. But it is ailing from within, not in El Salvador. Doc Reagan needs to make a few local house calls before he takes on the world. Maybe he should start at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. Physician, heal myself.
Nation should prepare better for oil cutoffs
Bv JOSEPHS. NYE
New York Times News Service
CAMBRIAGE, Mass.—There is a good chance that a significant interruption of the international oil supply will occur in the next few years. It has happened twice in the last seven
years. A year-long loss of Persian Gulf oil could devastate the world economy, create havoc in financial markets, and possibly lead to armed conflict. Yet, few of our long-term policies such as price decontrol, conservation subsidies and subsidies for fuel conversions and synthetic-fuel programs will help us secure our shorter term vulnerability. The danger is frightening, and we are not adequately prepared.
Contingency plans have limited value, because the sequence of events leading to a sudden curtailment of the oil supply cannot be confidently predicted. Any crisis will be clouded by uncertain and incomplete information. It is not profitable, therefore, to develop precise plans for managing a crisis. But there are two good ways for potential crisis managers to prepare for an emergency. One way is to encourage speculation on the questions that will be asked, the information that will be sought and the early decisions that must be made. This "gaming" leads to the following crisis checklist.
A command-and-control structure should be established. This requires a presidential directive creating a clear structure for handling emergency communications if the group hasn't worked together in advance, it may not work efficiently in a crisis. It must discuss procedures and contingencies to make sure that emergency communication channels are working properly the first hours will be getting and giving information.
Congressional involvement should be planned. This means identifying which senators and congressmen will be involved early in a crisis-massing procedures and plans with them in advance.
Emergency procedures with allies should be set up by designing liaison personnel to ensure that communications will be rapid. One possibility is to arrange to have officials flown to the site on short-haul flights, given to when and how to involve the international Energy Agency, known as the IEA.
Intelligence agencies must be required to develop the key questions that must be asked early in a crisis. Good answers will require that intelligence resources be properly allocated now. In addition, data must be collected to provide early alert of a crisis.
Plans for handling the oil market should include procedures and legal authorization to affect existing stocks, including a plan for using our strategic petroleum reserve. Because government allocation of petroleum has made past shortages worse, a market price for价钱 tax rebates is a better alternative than rationing.
Public education about oil threats and crises must be increased. Information should be disseminated in advance to Congress and the news media. The public needs to know the threat that oil interruptions pose to the Western alliance and the importance of the IEA as an energy equivalent to NATO. Security is not only a military matter.
A high official should be responsible for keeping emergency preparations flexible. Exercises involving top officials can help to identify factors that will determine the length and extent of interruptions and the need for further studies or preparations.
Planners should envision where we would want to see the international oil system ending up if an earthquake or hurricane strikes.
This, or a similar, checklist ought to be refined immediately, there is real chance that it needs
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