Huh? The USA successfully defended Baltimore Harbor, and Fort McHenry was not taken by the British - that’s why the “Banner yet waved.” Or did you mean the USA lost the war?
Yup. We don’t sing the words much, usually it’s performed as an instrumental.
Not only did we defend Baltimore Harbor, but we kicked British ass at The Battle of North Point.
I prefer the Kazaksthani National Anthem.
“Kazakhstan greatest country in the world. All the other countries are run by little girls.”
Hmm…To be a bit more on-topic, I’ll just link to ESPN instead.
How about the East German Anthem, according to Top Secret!:
Hail, hail East Germany / Land of fruit and grape / Land where you’ll regret / If you try to escape / No matter if you tunnel under or take a running jump at the wall / Forget it, the guards will kill you, if the electrified fence doesn’t first.
Sorry, I was using a more narrow definition of hymn, as in a song to God, especially since it was being sung in church. In that case, it strikes me as oxymoronic since God doesn’t call for battle. However, I see the definition does allow for a song of praise to a nation.
gigi- I don’t think you’ve been reading much of you bible…God certainly seemed to call for battle quite regularly in the books between Exodus and Kings.
As a neutral country, the only time the Irish get to be warlike is in the national anthem (and when the pubs empty), and 800 years of occupation tends to make you view people as an enemy, it’s not just a couple of battles a long time ago.
Hmmm… 'fraid you’re the one whose president is a war criminal… (being American he’s my president too, but I didn’t vote for him). 
Some dictatorships are better than others. I miss some aspects of the US, but not the “be afraid of everything” mentality.
Musically, I like the old Soviet Anthem (and current Russian one)… 'cept the lyrics to the Soviet one turned out to be wrong and were full of lies.
“Unbreakable union of free-born republics.” ummm… yeah… if you say so. 
where in the US did you encounter this mentality? I guess I hear people claim that often enough that it must be true in some places.
Maybe Detroiters just don’t scare easily.
That’s the Old Testament–it doesn’t count.
I think it is driven by the sensationalist news-is-entertainment environment. I notice it most upon first arrival (I only visit the US for a couple weeks each year). So at Atlanta airport the TVs are tuned to news and have things like “Will killer bees be invading your home soon? That story next!”. We don’t have that here.
Not to mention be afraid of everyone who doesn’t look like you. Just kind of a carry over from the militaristic attitudes of the anthems I guess.
Detroiters are probably hardened by the general level of crime and inner city issues. My brother was there one night, got lost in a neighborhood and was pulled over because he was white. The officer told him he was in a bad part of town and escorted him back to the main highway.
Riiiiiiight. Because the Mideast is such a hotbed of love, tolerance and acceptance. :rolleyes:
Worst. Thread. Ever.
This should have been put into Great Debates, although I’m sure this guest hasn’t been around here long enough to realize that.
Oh I don’t know.
A vaguely provocative subject matter. It stumbled along into 2 pages. We laughed. We cried. We even got some Chuck Berry thrown in. I like to think we all emerged better people at the end. I’m quite pleased with it.
wow, you really seem to be picking up on some messages that don’t really exist in my experience. If that vibe existed here, no one would be able to leave their homes. I don’t feel I’ve been conditioned to fear my neighbors, be they white, black, hispanic, arab, chaldean, indian, whatever. Do you fear people that look different from you? Or are you just assuming that other people do?
I know I sure as hell live in fear. This whole time, I’ve been huddled in the corner of my room, clutching a rifle in one hand and an American flag in the other. (I’ve been typing with my cock, in case you’re wondering.)
Amateur. If you wrap the flag around your shoulders, you can hold guns in both hands. It makes it hard to reach your drink, but you have to make sacrifices.
Yeah, the Marsellaise is the best. Don’t forget this part of the first (of seven ! ) verse:
The entire lyrics are here in English .
The beginning of the fifth verse has some exhortation to mercy:
BTW, mutantmoose, would you fight, or want someone else to fight, to save your mother from being raped or tortured to death? your lover? your child? yourself?
There.
Now that we’ve established that combat is sometimes necessary, the rest is merely the details of setting rules.
When I was a student in Taiwan, a bunch of us international students ate at one of the (almost) outdoor restaurants that they have under the land ends of bridges. We also drank beer. Towards the end of dinner, we all (almost all) decided to sing our country’s national anthems. I remember we did USA and Germany and France and Indonesia and maybe a couple of others. Then we got to the last group . . . a couple of Japanese guys . . . they told us: “We used to own this place . . . for a long time . . . I don’t think they would appreciate hearing our national anthem.” We didn’t press them any more to sing it.