The Brits are about to change one word in their national anthem. Can you imagine the chaos that would happen if the US had to do this?

@REMsleep What would concern you? It’s a song. Just a song. Not even a very good one.

@REMsleep [quote] I too would be extremely concerned if we changed a word in our national anthem.[/quote]Why is that, and do you mean just [u]any[/u] word?

Our national anthem already exists in two languages, with possible room for differences of opinion about its translation. And even in English the wording has changed slightly more than once, to the extent that some of us are not sure what the currently official version is. That might be the only good reason, never to change it. But why not update it if/when the culture morphs?

@REMsleep I’m guessing you must know all about the guy who wrote it plus the stanzas that are not used now. We could scrap it as far as I’m concerned. 🤨

@TheLustyLord I don't care about the song. I care about the tradition of our nation. What do we hold sacred if we change things based on current trends or whims (I am not referring to the Brit situation).
I would see changing something like this to be revisionist and evidence of political agenda and I would be extremely wary of that.
Its like changing your flag's colors that have exsisted for 400 years for no good reason. It would be flippant and indicate poor judgement and lack of respect for the country and hidden agenda.
It also does not matter if one of the original words is in question. We have had a standardized version for hundreds of years now.

@Really Your rebuttal regarding the anthem exsisting in various languages is sooo unrelated to the nature of what I am getting at. Totally irrelevant. All written and spoken words can be translated into other languages so what?
Changing a word in the original language is very important and yes any word would bother me.
See my response to @TheLustyLord for why.

@TheLustyLord I don't care about the song. I care about the tradition of our nation. What do we hold sacred if we change things based on current trends or whims (I am not referring to the Brit situation).

I do not understand some people but its a matter of how you view things in general I guess. But my point is that this sentiment is not tied only to Trumpers

@REMsleep There’s precedent, though. The Constitution itself has evolved via the Amendments. This hasn’t even been our national anthem as long as the [b]country[/b] has existed. So it’s been changed before. Before 1931, the most popular here was “My Country, 'Tis of Thee" (same melody as "God, Save The King").

@REMsleep The Star Spangled Banner wasn't our national anthem until 1929. The Pledge of Allegiance was adopted in 1923. In 1956, the words "under God" were added. Our paper money didn't have In God We Trust until 1956. So these things do not have a long tradition (less than 100 years) and have changed during that period based on current trends and whims.

@REMsleep So keep something old and terrible just because it’s always been there?

@REMsleep [quote]... instead of calling everyone stupid I recognize the good things ... [/quote]Do you see only those 2 options? Kind of limiting 🙂.

@REMsleep [quote]What do we hold sacred if we change things based on current trends or whims [/quote] it's a hackneyed cliché i Know, but relevant to your question: Would you apply that same 'logic' to, for instance, slavery or even just the oppression of colored people? They are part of tradition, yours and ours, but I doubt that you want to keep holding them as sacred as in the past.

No one has mentioned acting in accordance with 'current trends or whims'. Those are [i]your[/i] words, and a 'straw man.'

[quote]I would see changing something like this to be revisionist and evidence of political agenda [/quote]What - changing any single, so far unspecified word in an anthem? Bit of a stretch.

[quote]Its like changing your flag's colors that have exsisted for 400 years for no good reason. [/quote]It's considerably different from changing the colours of a national flag. If you don't see that ... well ... never mind. Just notice that no one has suggested changing anything "for no good reason". Another straw man.

@REMsleep [quote]Your rebuttal regarding the anthem exsisting in various languages is sooo unrelated to the nature of what I am getting at.[/quote] It's sad that you think that.
[quote]All written and spoken words can be translated into other languages so what?[/quote]
"So" - in most cases two different translators will fail to produce identical text. Sorry if you failed to grasp that.
[quote]I don't care about the song.[/quote] The thread is ABOUT the song.
[quote]I do not understand some people but its a matter of how you view things in general I guess. But my point is that this sentiment is not tied only to Trumpers[/quote]
[/quote]I must have missed the bit where you said that was your point. It's obvious that you don't understand some people. Why are you introducing the name of that clown (Trump) into this ?

@Really
I won't respond to the first point, its self explanatory and you don't see it that way.

[quote] So" - in most cases two different translators will fail to produce identical text. Sorry if you failed to grasp that. [/quote]
I totally get that since I speak two languages and know quite a few words in several more.

But that is not the point. If something is sacred in a certain language then of course translating it is acceptable to communicate the concept/s to parties who cannot understand the source language. But just as students of the Quran must ultimately learn Arabic the source material is always considered most accurate and unchangeable. Translations may change as new context becomes available. But if the source altered everything else comes into question.
A national anthem is not a sacred religious text but it is an example of something old and full of tradition.

[quote] I don't care about the song. [/quote]
It seems that you are perhaps deliberately not understanding.
I don't care about the national anthem per se. I don't hear it and feel inspired, it doesn't hold special meaning for me but it is my country's anthem and I respect the country and its history and traditions. Changing the song would represent many things to me all of which are bad.
That is what I mean.

I meantioned Trumpers because the OP posted pics of Capitan rioters as the main group which would be " up in arms" regarding changing a word of the national anthem. Didn't you see the pics? I didn't come out of nowhere with it.

My original post conveyed the idea that although I am nearly the polar opposite of the people shown in the photos I don't want to make fun of them too quickly for having certain standards.

@REMsleep [quote]that is not the point.[/quote][b]It's the point I was making. You're just responding to yourself. Have at it: I'm sure you'll be very happy together.[/b]

@Really Ok 👌