Does singing "The Star-Spangled Banner" somehow make us patriotic?

Hey guys, it's Jasmine.

I've been thinking a bit about the discussion we had about "The Star-Spangled Banner." We talked about how many of us (including me) don't know all the words to the national anthem. I remember seeing American athletes at the Olympics award ceremonies, pretending to sing along, but were obviously faking. So does that mean we're unpatriotic?

Hayakawa said that the symbol is not the thing symbolized. So, following his logic, the star-spangled banner does not have a necessary connection to the American values it's supposed to symbolize. After all, nobody knows exactly what these "American values" are. So, according to Hayakawa, flag-burning shouldn't be that big of a deal, since the flag is merely a piece of cloth. So Hayakawa would say that lyrics are merely symbols--they have no inherent connection to what they're supposed to represent--American values.

I don't agree completely with Hayakawa. No matter how hard you try to separate the symbol from the thing symbolized, it's almost inevitable to confuse the two. I think it's just a part of human nature. The majority of American citizens need to latch onto a symbol, like the American flag, to express their patriotism. On July 4, most people think about barbecues, picnics, parades, and American flags--they don't think about the Declaration of Independence or the Revolutionary War. Likewise, the national anthem is important to Americans, but in a superficial way. Most Americans haven't taken the time to analyze the lyrics, so they don't understand the deeper meaning of the song. Before high school, I had no idea that our national anthem was describing an event that happened during the War of 1812. Looking back, I realize that I had no idea what the song was about--I just sang it without thinking about it. I, like many other Americans, sing the song because it's the "patriotic" thing to do. Even if we don't know or understand the lyrics, singing the national anthem "reaffirms social cohesion" (as Allison said the other day)--it makes us feel like we're all a part of America. So we do confuse the symbol with the thing symbolized, even if we try not to. Ever since we were little, society has ingrained the "American flag = patriotism" idea in our heads.

Also, sometimes at sporting events (like a track meet I went to a couple weeks ago), only the instrumental version of "The Star-Spangled Banner" is played. This just reaffirms that Americans don't care so much about the lyrics, and believe that the music itself is somehow innately patriotic. I know some people who listen to foreign music and sing along, without understand a single word. The music is still powerful, even if the lyrics mean nothing to the listener. I think that music is almost like another language--it can have a strong effect even without words.

Another question I wanted to ask was: Even if we did change the national anthem to "America the Beautiful," etc., would Americans pay more attention to the lyrics? Would they care more about the deep meaning of the words in the song? I think that even if it were changed, people would still not be able to sing the whole song without blundering and faking.