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It's time for a new national anthem

Henry Josten Old Saybrook

Publication: The Day

Published 07/16/2012 12:00 AM
Updated 07/13/2012 01:57 PM

Regarding the Bicentennial celebration for the War of 1812, including OpSail, I was disturbed by the fact that many of the accounts made it sound as though "The Star-Spangled Banner" became our national anthem during the War of 1812.

Yes, Francis Scott Key wrote the words to "The Star-Spangled Banner" in 1812 but the song didn't become our anthem until 119 years later in 1931. It remains today, less than a century later, the only national anthem that almost no American can sing properly.

It's high time we replace "The Star-Spangled Banner" with a more suitable anthem such as "America the Beautiful" or "God Bless America."

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