# God Bless America is not the fucking national anthem! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [October 7, 2011, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/god-bless-america-is-not-the-fucking-national-anthem/598856 "2011-10-07T02:40:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Sparky812](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eb9ed0/32.png) [@Sparky812](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sparky812)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2011, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/god-bless-america-is-not-the-fucking-national-anthem/598856/101 "2011-10-08T02:15:25Z")
> [@colonial](#): > > Both are great art to anyone unless they have a tin ear like yours. Whoa Now! Hold on, that kind of talk is uncalled for, please show some respect for out tin men brothers! ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2011, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/god-bless-america-is-not-the-fucking-national-anthem/598856/102 "2011-10-08T02:31:04Z")
> [@Bill\_Door](#): > > I usually tell him I’m not remaining seated because I don’t respect my country, I’m remaining seated because I don’t respect God. It gives him a nice story to tell back at the home. I think it’s great that you give old people something new to talk about. Og knows that my parents will tell the same old stories EVERY time I talk to them. A new story would be welcome. ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Panda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ee7513/32.png) [@Darth\_Panda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Panda)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2011, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/god-bless-america-is-not-the-fucking-national-anthem/598856/103 "2011-10-08T03:10:19Z")
You know, I really feel cheated here. Normally a comment about having an image of Jesus mowing down Arabs and commies with a machine gun while riding a stegosaurus printed on US currency would get at least _some_ kind of response, but **colonial** has completely derailed my hijack with his nonsensical insistence on addressing the OP in his fucking oh-so-special manner. Lots of songs are great art, I’m not standing for all of them. And insisting that everyone acknowledge that what you think is great as art is just stupid. I happen to think “Waving my Dick in the Wind” is a really good song, but I don’t feel the need to compel an entire country to fucking stand and “salute” when it comes on the PA. ---
**Author:** ![drewtwo99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d07c76/32.png) [@drewtwo99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewtwo99)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2011, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/god-bless-america-is-not-the-fucking-national-anthem/598856/104 "2011-10-08T03:24:57Z")
\*\*colonial \*\*is a True American Hero. Stop picking on him! If he doesn’t stand up for GBA, then soon you guys will be pissing all over what makes us Truly American, like pornography, militaristic aggression, triple stacked cheeseburgers fried in butter, and The Home Shopping Network. Don’t you all understand what he is fighting for??? ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2011, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/god-bless-america-is-not-the-fucking-national-anthem/598856/105 "2011-10-08T03:30:07Z")
> [@drewtwo99](#): > > …triple stacked cheeseburgers fried in butter… Want. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2011, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/god-bless-america-is-not-the-fucking-national-anthem/598856/106 "2011-10-08T03:58:32Z")
> [@Hypnagogic\_Jerk](#): > > Yeah, I saw this when they were playing the Canadiens in the playoffs in 2010. I just don’t think it’s a good song (and I also find it distasteful to sing songs about “God” during non-religious gatherings), while I do like _The Star-Spangled Banner_ very much. I’m not American, but I think it’s a great national anthem. > > Also, they had the singer be accompanied by a audio/video recording of who I understand is this Kate Smith, singing her famous rendition of the song. Yes, I understand that it’s some sort of tradition for the fans there, but why replace a (good) national anthem by a dead singer singing a bad song? I believe she always used to sing it for them live back in the original “Broad Street Bully” days. > [@Steophan](#): > > You should use “My Country 'Tis Of Thee” as your national anthem. The tune should be especially fitting for a **colonial**. Well, he certainly seems to THINK he’s royalty when it comes to musical knowledge. (and I like the “Star-Spangled Banner”) ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2011, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/god-bless-america-is-not-the-fucking-national-anthem/598856/107 "2011-10-08T04:54:12Z")
I can sing the The Star Spangled Banner. It really isn’t that hard. Don’t start too high and you’ll be fine. It does not have a huge range. I like the fact that our national anthem was written by probably the greatest one hit wonder ever. Francis Scott Key did write some hymns and you may notice them in a hymnal from time to time. A lot of people think the anthem is too militaristic, which is ironic because Francis Scott Key was opposed to the war on his religious grounds. He was a very successful lawyer and he argued cases before the Supreme Court. Irving Berlin himself never thought much of God Bless America. He didn’t think it was a very good song. He cut the song from the play he originally wrote it to be in and pulled it out later. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Tooth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c67d28/32.png) [@The\_Tooth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Tooth)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2011, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/god-bless-america-is-not-the-fucking-national-anthem/598856/108 "2011-10-08T05:08:00Z")
> [@Death\_of\_Rats](#): > > Pledge of Alligence, Star Spangled Banner and porn. I thought you were supposed to be touching one another’s nipples for porn! ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2011, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/god-bless-america-is-not-the-fucking-national-anthem/598856/109 "2011-10-08T05:16:10Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > I believe she always used to sing it for them live back in the original “Broad Street Bully” days. It started out as a really bad recording, played on the really bad sound system at the Spectrum. When the Flyers made it to the Stanley Cup, Kate came in to sing it live. The idea was the Flyers never lost when they played GBA instead of the anthem. GBA is a much less annoying song. And it’s not the song you’re standing up for, it’s the cheeseburgers and beer that the song represents. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2011, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/god-bless-america-is-not-the-fucking-national-anthem/598856/110 "2011-10-08T05:19:32Z")
[I wrote a letter to the editor of our local paper awhile back](http://www.theolympian.com/2009/10/08/996657/letters-to-the-editor-for-oct.html) in response to an issue of this nature - a pair of people had been ejected from a bush-league baseball game for failing to stand during “God Bless America”. My belief now is the same as it was then - respect for the symbols and iconography is all well and good, but the freedom to disagree is one of the rights that those symbols _stand for_. Enforced reverence to mere symbols makes a mockery of the ideals that those symbols represent. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2011, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/god-bless-america-is-not-the-fucking-national-anthem/598856/111 "2011-10-08T05:29:16Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > [Terrorism!](http://dumpalink.com/videos/Robot-Chicken-Terrorism-4648.html) That link seems to go to a video of a Japanese girl doing…things. NSFW things. I like that **colonial’s** posts all take the form of a free verse poetry. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Docta\_G](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/2bfe46/32.png) [@Docta\_G](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Docta_G)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2011, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/god-bless-america-is-not-the-fucking-national-anthem/598856/112 "2011-10-08T05:32:53Z")
> [@colonial](#): > > “God Bless America” is a great song to all but the aesthetically deformed > retard scrotebag segment of the population, and it fittingly serves as sort > of an unofficial alternative national anthem for the rest of us who are normal. > > So, if you don’t like to see people remove their hats when it is played, > tough shit and fuck off. And if you don’t like to see people to put thier hands > over their hearts and stand still when it is played, tough shit and fuck off, > you asshole. You can wait a few more minutes for your goddam beer, > and if you can shit your britches while you’re at it No, the song _sucks shit_. And if you don’t like it that I go take a piss while you engage in your proto-fascist nonsense, then tough shit and fuck off. ---
**Author:** ![Autolycus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/22d042/32.png) [@Autolycus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Autolycus)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2011, 6:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/god-bless-america-is-not-the-fucking-national-anthem/598856/113 "2011-10-08T06:00:45Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > That link seems to go to a video of a Japanese girl doing…things. NSFW things What link are _you_ clicking on?\* Mine goes to Adult Swim. \*And where may I find it? ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2011, 6:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/god-bless-america-is-not-the-fucking-national-anthem/598856/114 "2011-10-08T06:29:42Z")
You. Don’t. Want. To. Know. ---
**Author:** ![Autolycus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/22d042/32.png) [@Autolycus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Autolycus)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2011, 6:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/god-bless-america-is-not-the-fucking-national-anthem/598856/115 "2011-10-08T06:33:47Z")
If it’s eel girl, then too late. Otherwise, I’m still a little curious \>.\> ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2011, 6:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/god-bless-america-is-not-the-fucking-national-anthem/598856/116 "2011-10-08T06:35:31Z")
> [@Sparky812](#): > > Whoa Now! Hold on, that kind of talk is uncalled for, please show some respect for out tin men brothers! “Stannous-American”, please! :mad: ---
**Author:** ![Scissorjack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c67d28/32.png) [@Scissorjack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scissorjack)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2011, 7:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/god-bless-america-is-not-the-fucking-national-anthem/598856/117 "2011-10-08T07:43:38Z")
> [@Malacandra](#): > > “Stannous-American”, please! :mad: Histannics. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2011, 11:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/god-bless-america-is-not-the-fucking-national-anthem/598856/118 "2011-10-08T11:15:50Z")
> [@Zebra](#): > > Irving Berlin himself never thought much of God Bless America. He didn’t think it was a very good song. I agree with Irving. ---
**Author:** ![Capitaine\_Zombie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e95f7d/32.png) [@Capitaine\_Zombie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capitaine_Zombie)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2011, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/god-bless-america-is-not-the-fucking-national-anthem/598856/119 "2011-10-08T12:53:38Z")
> [@Capitaine\_Zombie](#): > > Can the OP clarify, as a furry foragna, I have lost touch with which things Americans are supposed to turn off their brains for and stand touching their nipples. > [@Death\_of\_Rats](#): > > Pledge of Alligence, Star Spangled Banner and porn. _Golf clap_. You took a semi-decent joke and turned it fully indecent. I can admire that in a man. > [@Darth\_Panda](#): > > eta: I think they’re making a new dollar coin with Jesus riding a stegosaurus on it, gunning down Arabs and Commies. This thread is turning into the best joke thread ever. I’ll have that image in my skull till death frees me. > [@Frank](#): > > Please stand and remove your hats while the curator of the Louvre carries the Mona Lisa across the outfield. And, another good one. > [@Darth\_Panda](#): > > You know, I really feel cheated here. Normally a comment about having an image of Jesus mowing down Arabs and commies with a machine gun while riding a stegosaurus printed on US currency would get at least _some_ kind of response, but **colonial** has completely derailed my hijack with his nonsensical insistence on addressing the OP in his fucking oh-so-special manner. Oh shut up, I just told you I’m a fan. > [@colonial](#): > > Berlin’s art is a case where the culture has displayed good taste, > yet you can think of nothing but to trash them. Oh, an [Hitler](http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adolf_Hitler) quote, why dont you? ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Panda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ee7513/32.png) [@Darth\_Panda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Panda)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2011, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/god-bless-america-is-not-the-fucking-national-anthem/598856/120 "2011-10-08T13:01:50Z")
> [@Capitaine\_Zombie](#): > > Oh shut up, I just told you I’m a fan. Yay! 🙂 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/god-bless-america-is-not-the-fucking-national-anthem/598856.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/god-bless-america-is-not-the-fucking-national-anthem/598856.md?page=7)