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Whose anthem?

Your “We the People” project did a thorough job on the national anthem question without recognizing the best reason for dropping the slaver’s doggerel set to a martial drinking tune.

No wonder playing it sweetly is tough. It’s all about the glorification of war. The song elevates the flag above human life, regardless of who’s a slave in the land of the free or who’s a coward in the home of the brave. It has helped undermine the study and practice of peace to the extent that our country’s leaders do not consult peacemakers in the affairs of state and our children seldom see a federal model for peace.

This hymn to hostility should be relegated to a museum of disgrace, along with the names and monuments of military icons we’ve learned we can no longer honor. Some of us have learned we can love and defend our country without any need to kill or torture our government-designated enemy.

Rusty Nelson

Rockford

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