Our National Anthem

https://newslit.org/

Before you go on, an article in the May 8 & May 22 issue of Science News ran with a cover "Awash in Deception:  How science can help us avoid being duped by misinformation."  In the lead article titled: "The Battle Against Fake News," Alexandra Witze presents five suggestions on how to debunk bad information.  They come from the News Literacy Project (see the above link).

How to Debunk:

1.  Arm yourself with media literacy skills, at sites such as the News Literacy Project (newslit.org), to better understand how to spot hoax videos and stories.

2.  Don't stigmatize people for holding inaccurate beliefs.  Show empathy and respect, or you're more likely to alienate your audience than successfully share accurate information.

3.  Translate complicated but true ideas into simple messages that are easy to grasp.  Videos, graphics and other visual aids can help.

4.  When possible, once you provide a factual alternative to the misinformation, explain the underlying fallacies (such as cherry- picking information, a common tactic of climate change deniers.

5.  Mobilize when you see misinformation being shared on social media as soon as possible. If you see something, say something

Source:  The Debunking Handbook 2020, News Literacy Project

My church choir, The Alegria Singers of the First Unitarian Church of San Jose spent two months learning the words and music to this work which was written by Jean Rohe as part of an effort to explore words and music for a different national anthem than the traditional one whose words came from a poem written by Francis Scott Key on September 14, 1814 as he witnessed a British bombardment of Fort McHenry in Maryland. It was put to music and became our National anthem in 1931.

Many people, including myself, think that it is time to consider a National anthem that is more representative of the entirety of our national experience in a clear, concise and musically accessible package.

This comes from someone who loves the challenge of singing the current National Anthem.

I really enjoy singing this song. You can probably hear that in my voice. But, the movement for an anthem that better reflects the nation is more important in my mind. Let’s take a closer look at the words of the Jean Rohe take on a new national anthem.

Chorus:  

"Arise, arise, I see the future in your eyes.  To a more perfect union we aspire and lift our voices from the fire."

So reads the text that follows each of the four verses of this new anthem for the United States of America. To me it says that our nation has flaws, but it is well worth preserving if we listen to each other and rise to a higher level of collective beliefs and knowledge.

"Atlantic and Pacific Flow, the Great Lakes and the Gulf of Mexico. The land between sustains us all, to cherish it our tireless call."

Drop the stereotypes and begin, once again, to see Americans as Americans, people as people. Fifty states, one nation. Show respect for each other and cherish each other. None of this Red and Blue crap.

"Arise, arise, I see the future in your eyes.  To a more perfect union we aspire and lift our voices from the fire."

"We reached these shores from many lands.  We came with hungry hearts and hands. Some came by force and some by will.  At the auction block or the darkened mill."

Our ancestors came here in different ways, some by exercising their free will and others forcibly against their will. All stories need to be told.

"Arise, arise, I see the future in your eyes.  To a more perfect union we aspire and lift our voices from the fire."

"We died in your fields and your factories. Strange fruit hanging from the poplar trees.  With an old coat hanger in a room somewhere.  A Trail of Tears, an electric chair."

"Arise, arise I see the future in your eyes. To a more perfect union we aspire and lift our voices from the fire."

"And our great responsibility, to be guardians of our liberty. 'Till tyrants bow to the peoples dreams and justice flows like a mighty stream."

It is up to us, you and me, to have the country that the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution have spelled out and intend for all of us. That is the Constitution, the one and only Constitution.

The one written, signed and amended through processes expressly called out in the 18th Century by those whose contemporaries fought and died for it. And legally amended through proper legislative processes since then to reflect the will of the majority of American citizens.

And, let’s be clear on something else. This is not the imaginary Constitution used to justify the invasion of the Capital on January 6, 2021, made up for political purposes by forces that no longer believe that Democracy works for them. Wave your flag proudly in defense of the Constitution of the United States of America.

As we head into Summer, I believe that is vitally important that we each do a personal assessment of how we feel about liberty, Democracy and what it means to be an American. Please do the hard work that is needed to save Democracy and take the action that you deem necessary to preserve Democracy. Thanks, Bruce.