National Anthem 2022: Land of the Free, Home of the Brave
Stephanie St. John's "The Star Spangled Banner"
Dear Reader,
There is little to celebrate on Independence Day this year, I realize; few reasons to feel patriotic. Just as Sam and Clarence and Neil and Brett and John and Amy Covid threw cold water on my vacation, so have they ruined the Fourth of July. With democracy on the verge of collapse, and the American experiment on life support, it’s difficult to enjoy the hot dogs, fireworks, and parades.
Here’s the thing, though. The Fourth? It’s ours. The American fascists have no claim to it. Let them set aside June 14 (Trump’s birthday), or April 20 (Hitler’s birthday), or May 18 (Plessy v. Ferguson decision) for their hateful holiday. The Fourth of July belongs to We the People, not despotic white supremacists.
Our flag, too, is our flag. Let the American fascists appropriate the Stars & Bars, or Gadsden, or Blue Lives Matter—or this:
And the American fascists sure as shit don’t get to make off with “The Star Spangled Banner.” No fucking way. Let Kid Rock or Ted Nugent or fucking Emin Agalarov write those artless jackasses a new one. Let Roseanne Barr sing the state-sanctioned version.
I love the National Anthem. I think it’s a stirring piece of music. I love the lyrics, written by Francis Scott Key all the way back in 1814, when the British were kicking our ass, when the future of the country was very much in doubt. I love how it’s difficult to sing well. I love watching how various singers, famous and otherwise, approach the performance at a sporting event.
My wife also enjoys watching these performances, critiquing them like she’s Simon Cowell on American Idol. She is a fantastic vocalist, and I’ve heard her do a killer version of the song countless times, singing to herself in the kitchen or the shower. She was just doing this a few weeks ago, after listening to one of the National Anthems during the NBA Finals. So, with the Fourth of July around the corner, I asked if she would record the Anthem for PREVAIL. She did, and, I’m proud to say, she slayed.
Here, then, is Stephanie St. John’s version of “The Star Spangled Banner” for 2022:
What you can’t tell from listening to the finished version is that the first track was a cappella. The instruments were added later. “I think it adds a layer of dissonance,” she said, “like how it really is to be here in the USA now.”
Republicans in Congress, the Kochs and their ilk, the Federalist Society, RAGA, ALEC, the Supreme Court, Trump and his henchmen, DeSantis and Noem and Tate Reeves and Greg Abbott—they all want democracy to die. The American fascists want a return to antebellum minoritarian rule, if not the pre-1776 tyranny we declared our independence from 246 years ago today.
Whether the United States remains the Land of the Free in November and beyond depends largely on if it is also, truly, the Home of the Brave.
Did we have Stacey Abrams and Voto Latino, or the Obamas, during the 1960s when white and black voting rights advocates were getting lynched in Mississippi? Did we have Pride events and 🌈 and 🏳️⚧️ flags all over the country and all over the world back then, when gender-nonconforming people were lynched with impunity? Did women have the right to vote, to own property and businesses, with full contractual rights, and did they have legal abortion for 50 years? Was marital rape even a crime? Did sexual harassment in the workplace even exist before Anita Hill?
Today’s Republican Party, and today’s Supreme Court, are throwbacks to the past. These people are the obsolete relics hanging on for dear life to a tradition of white supremacy, male supremacy, hetero supremacy, and Christian supremacy that is dying out. The reason they have to lie cheat and steal to get their people in power, is because they can’t do it legitimately anymore. Today’s Supreme Court is probably a bunch of lightweights compared to the SCs of the 1800s. And unlike those vintage justices, today’s justices are subjected to harassment, picketing, protests. 🎉🎉
I love my country, and I will always be a Californian at heart. But I will never again be in denial about the people in this country. We live in a deeply racist, sexist and genderist society. Every family, every neighborhood, every work site has them. Even in my own family, there is a man who has always wanted to change society to bring it back to whites-first, men-first, straights only, rich-first, and Christian first. We live in a divided country, and the racist-sexist-genderist half is fighting like a cornered rat for control now that their population is shrinking below 50%. But diversity and equality are the wave of the future: we are the Borg, and they will be assimilated. 🇺🇸🌈🇺🇸🌈🗽🗽
We must have been soul mates in the nation's early history, Greg, because I applaud everything you say here! Reading this helps me reclaim the flag for democracy.
Some on HCR's substack expressed preference for "This Land is Your Land" over the Star Spangled Banner. I cannot subscribe as it puts in sharp relief the land that is "ours" in that song is stolen land, very embarrassing! Plus, I, too love the original where "proof that our flag was still there" is everything. Love your wife's rendition...perfect!
So they can get their own flag and national song. While we're at it, let's claim Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elana Kagan and KBJ as our Supremes, and add a few more. The fascists can take those other six.
The Fourth for We, the People, All of Us This Time!