Battle Hymn of the Republic should be our national anthem—it's a militant religious battlefield hymn about dying for the sake of freedom. It's humble, rustic, and doesn't require an orchestra. Our current anthem has always been subpar in comparison.
Gonna push back a little.
While the Battle Hymn is definitely the next best choice, the star spangled banner is quintessential to America. I’m a strong believer that the national anthem of a country needs to celebrate either the people, their spirit, or their land(which is why I think Gcd save the Queen is the worst anthem in history but that’s a different topic).
The star spangled banner is asking a very simple question. “Is the flag still there?” It describes a horrific battle that lasted an entire night, and through context it can be implied the person asking the question, the narrator of the song, was in that battle and now lays dying. And while they’re dying, all they’re asking you, the listener, the survivor, is “is the flag still there? Does it still wave over our land?”
It’s effectively asking “did the American spirit survive? Did our beliefs and freedom survive?” It’s a song that celebrates the bravery and strength of the American people and how despite everything, our spirit will never die and we will never surrender even if we ourselves fall. Especially when taken into the context of the war of 1812. America was young, we had barely won our independence and now we were fighting the British again and they burned down the White House(get fucked Canada, it wasn’t you). But the flag still stood and the spirit lived on.
It’s the perfect fit because it’s a song that rallies the people both in good times and bad times. It’s not a song about winning the battle. It’s about knowing that no matter what, the American spirit is strong. The belief in freedom is strong. And as long as there are brave and free men, America is strong. “O say does that star spangled banner yet wave?” You bet your ass it does, and with it so does America.
