well, what do you say when you have to take the Oath in a law-court? Do you miss the word 'God' out of that too?

First hand knowledge, You raise your right hand and swear to tell the truth.Nothing else added anymore.

Something along the lines of what Fd said.

In jury duty, you are asked to swear to uphold the constitution, adhere to the judges instructions, yadda yadda yadda. The judge asks before being sworn in if anyone has a problem with taking an oath. There usually is one wise@ss in the bunch that decides that his religion prohibits him from taking oaths, etc.

anyway your comparison doesn't bear up. as you don't have an Established church or religion in the US, something as vague as "God" shouldn't offend anyone, should it, except hard-core atheists and Wiccans etc, who aren't exactly in the majority are they? And the sentiment of the lyrics is clear, rather it's the associations of the word "God" that they're objecting to. which is just semantic quibbling imo.

well what the hey? it's not my country. keep the Star-Spangled Banner, no-one can sing it anyway. or play it. I know, i've tried. I had to learn it for music in the 6th Form. it's really hard.

am i right in thinking it's not about the War of Independence, but the War of 1812? what did you have before that, after we kindly let you go your own way?

You would think. But then the pro-God in government side keeps falling over itself and starts spouting off how all the founding fathers were god fearing christians, blahdy blahdy blah blah. Next thing you know they're making the civil libertarians' points for them.

It gets too tedious to bear and, in a legal wrangle, so far, the pro-God in government types keep losing. I think they keep losing because they push their own sujective agenda about religion much too hard. It basically scares others into agreeing that it is a good thing we keep that kind of god out of government.

It was writen as washington was burned and Fort McHenry was attacked. A man named Fransis scott Key was on a Brit war ship as a prisoner and wrote the song as the battle happened. The year was 1812. Your Admiral Cockburn's ship I believe. Key was a lawyer as well.

Edited by - Finalday on 9/6/2004 7:05:15 PM

your country is ever so complicated. the more i learn about it, the more confused i get how do you ever get anything decided? somebody always going to object to something, surely?

___________________________________________________________________
why not have the following far more sensible system?

Grand Mullah
I
some other mullahs + the Beard Police (FD's safe)
I
more mullahs
I
mullah's lackeys
I
ordinary people
I
people with heads of rabbits.

now, what's wrong with that, i ask you? want to hear the national anthem again?

That's right BUT, until 1931, we did not have an official National Anthem. In 1931, the SSB was made this country's anthem.

Before then, your guess is as good as mine. I imagine things like Yankee Doodle, a Souza march or something or other was played. Hail to the Chief, the President's little ditty, already was in use though.

The SSB is hard to sing. Most normal singing voices strain at the "rockets red glare, the bombs bursting in air" bit. Or else, the beginning "Oh say" bit makes tenors out of most baritones. Which is why they tried to replace it just a little later after that.

Keye only wrote the lyrics. The tune is some English song called "To Anacreon in Heaven" which was sung in many a drinking establishment? I don't dispute the origin of the melody but I am unable to imagine how drunken voices could give air to this tune much less anything halfway intelligible.

...to wit, verse 1:

To Anacreon in Heaven, where he fat in full glee,
A few fons of Harmony fent a petition,
That He their Infpirer and Patron would be;
When this anfwer arrived from the Jolly Old Grecian
"Voice, Fiddle, and Flute,
"no longer be mute,
"I'll lend you my Name and infpire you to boot,
"And, befides, I'll infruct you like me to entwine
"The Myrtle of Venus with Bacchus's Vine.

<Edit>

Nertz! I forgot to change the "f's" to "s's". This is
a literal reproduction of an old printed song sheet
printed from that time and, needless to say, with
the oddities of printing/spelling from that era.

Edited by - Indy11 on 9/6/2004 7:19:56 PM

<Edit>
Corrected typos but not the "f's"

Edited by - Indy11 on 9/7/2004 6:34:00 AM

I like the 'f's

I didn't know that, about it not being the NA until 1931. I tthought you'd had it since the early 19thC. well well well

Edited by - Radio Free Tawakalnistan on 9/6/2004 8:23:06 PM

Hmm, a Tawakalnian anthem... how about "God Save the Mullah and God Damn the Infidels?

---

people with heads of rabbits.

---

And why are we on the bottom of the social ladder? We are the educated minority!

Too many mullahs spoil the koranic pot don't you think? With that many, how would any one person be able to remain the Grand Mullah? I smell schism in the air.

hierarchical authority; schismatics are heretics and thus unbelievers.

Says you. There always will be the chance now of a younger opinion leader who'll seek to unseat you to become the next GM or, barring that, establish his own following be a GM of that.....

Pah! Religion and politics are one and the same. It's all about hierarchical power and authority in the end. Good luck your mullah-ness, you'll need it.

/magnanimously forgives Brother Indy for his jaded cynicism and lack of faith.