Have you ever given your state flag much thought? If you’re like most people, you probably haven’t. In fact, many people probably couldn’t even pick their state flag out of a lineup. That doesn’t mean they aren’t important. In fact, they’re important enough that there has been a movement to replace many of them, usually with something bland and less representative of their respective states. That is a charitable interpretation. One could argue that the changes were done to erase history. Many state flags remained unchanged for decades; other states adopted new designs, and others are debating whether their…
Author: wanker
On the United States’ 250th birthday, I ran across a link to the country’s first national anthem, “Hail, Columbia.” While the current anthem, “The Star-Spangled Banner,” is probably more inspiring, “Hail, Columbia” arguably captures our history, who we are, even better. Some people, on occasion, talk of changing the anthem to the insipid “America the Beautiful.” Other alternatives proposed are Woodie Guthrie’s “This Land is Our Land,” written in 1940, or Irving Berlin’s “God Bless America,” made famous by Kate Smith. While the latter is beautiful and poignant, having really come to fame when the dark clouds of World War…