We also have grilled meat, several different types of prepared potato, fireworks, and the company of people we love, or at least like enough to spend an hour or two with. I have spent July 4th abroad twice in my life, and both times I spotted Old Glory and felt a swell of pride and loyalty. Nothing inspires the feeling quite like it.
Today we celebrate the anniversary of the adoption of our Declaration of Independence by our fledgling government, the Continental Congress. This was an incredibly bold move that could have resulted in those whose signed the Declaration being drawn and quartered for treason against the Crown. History dulls the scale of their actions because we already know the ending to the story; we already know that we won our Revolutionary War and became our own nation. But today, as we sip our drinks and eat our burgers, take a second to try and imagine the bravery of the 56 delegates who put their necks on the line to establish what we all enjoy today.
It is a classic joke that Americans don't know the words to their own national anthem, In fairness, it is full of words we don't use regularly, so to some, it's like learning how to sing a song in another language. So today, I am going to tell you all the lyrics, and to make them stick, I'll paint you a picture of what Francis Scott Key was seeing and feeling as he wrote these words.
To set the scene: The year is 1812, and British and American forces are going at it during the War of 1812. Francis Scott Key is onboard the British ship HMS Tonnant to negotiate the release of American prisoners (one, Dr. William Beanes, was arrested for locking up British soldiers who were ransacking local farms). Since Key was onboard a British vessel, he would have been privy to the British fleet's movements, and could not be trusted to be returned to the Americans until after the naval bombardment had finished.
So Key had to watch the coast of his beloved country getting pummeled by British forces during the Battle of Baltimore on September 12th through the 15th, 1814. Let's translate this to modern times to help us get a better understanding of what Key must have felt. Imagine that China has moved a naval fleet right up to the shores of San Diego. Imagine they pulled off a surprise attack that crippled our own magnificent naval fleet. And you were onboard the Chinese ship, looking out a window for three days, just watching bomb after bomb strike your motherland. You're powerless. You're devastated. You're a witness to the destruction of your nation.
One night, Key went to his window and looked toward Fort McHenry. He looked at the flag pole expecting to find the Union Jack flying, signifying a British victory over the American fort. Instead, what he saw lead to such a swelling of pride and gratitude that he was inspired to write what he called "the first time that someone had put down in words their feelings about their country and the flag" - the enormous, 30 foot by 42 foot Star Spangled Banner waving over the fort, flying proudly to signify the American victory.
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| Is this not the most American thing you've ever seen |
Remember this story the next time you hear our anthem, and remember what our country endured and suffered so that we can enjoy our fireworks and our day off.
"Oh, say, can you see, by the dawn's early light
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming"
- Key expected the American flag to have been replaced by the British flag overnight, and expected the British to have taken control of the fort. Imagine his disbelief when he looked out and saw the American flag proudly flying instead.
"Whose broad stripes and bright stars
Through the perilous fight
O'er the ramparts we watched
Were so gallantly streaming?"
- A rampart is a defensive wall that surrounds a military fort. Key is saying that after the battle, you were able to see without a doubt, over the outer walls of the fort, that it was under American control, a fact made unmistakable by the display of the massive flag.
"And the rocket's red glare, the bombs bursting in air
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there."
- The battle itself, the ordnance intended to destroy American forces, provided the light that gave everyone in the vicinity the ability to see the flag, and the country who was in control of the fort. Imagine how hopeful those dudes must have felt after looking up and seeing that. Things must have looked bleak, but they knew that their efforts were having an impact on the outcome, because they were still winning, America was standing her ground.
"Oh, say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O'er the land of the free, and the home of the brave?"
- Land of the free! No longer a territory of Great Britain, but a free, independent country, earned by the brave men who fought the battles for independence, who stood up and put their names on the Declaration of Independence.
Enjoy this wonderful holiday, and please thank the brave men and women who continue the fight to defend our wonderful country!
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