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The Star Spangled Banner was written by Francis Scott Key during the War of 1812 after he witnessed the horrific night-long shelling of Fort McHenry by the British, and then saw the U.S. flag still flying over the fort at dawn. It's an expression of awe at the heroism, the selflessness, and the courage of the men... and the nation... that stood behind that flag.

At Woodstock in 1969, Jimi Hendrix played the Star Spangled Banner in one of his most famous performances. In a clear anti-war statement, he used his guitar to intersperse his interpretation with sounds of explosions and destruction, and ultimately burned his guitar onstage. Hard-core patriots were outraged, anti-war activists declared it a triumph, and the music community cheered it as further proof of Hendrix's musical genius.

Was Hendrix disrespecting the National Anthem? No. He took a musical piece loaded with high principles and twisted it to express the twisted nature of U.S. policy at the time. It was a potent political message, showing no disrespect to the song or its meaning. Rather, he used the National Anthem as a vehicle to make a musical, political commentary. The principles of the National Anthem were never challenged.

There are hundreds of examples in pop culture where the Star Spangled Banner has been used for artistic purposes, but never to disrespect the song or the spirit behind it. In the sitcom "The Odd Couple", one of the characters (a dim-witted New York cop named Murray) writes a script where a character with a lisp sings the National Anthem at a sports event. They debate whether "Oh Thay can you Thee" is bad writing or comedy.

In the movie "The Naked Gun", a dimwitted investigator is put in the position of singing the National Anthem at a ball game, and mangles the lyrics, demonstrating his stupidity... again... but also symbolizing the general ignorance of the U.S. public.

In the musical "Hair" the lines "Oh Say, Can you see, by my eyes, if you can, then my hair's too short!" are sung to the national anthem's tune... but only to show how the high principles of freedom's defense have been twisted to condemn a hair, life, and political choice.

Re-interpreting the National Anthem to address these issues (stupidity, political commentary, social perspectives) does not disrespect the song. It simply uses the Anthem as a symbol to frame a question. And usually that question is "Aren't we pursuing stupid goals when you view them against our heroic heritage?"

Now, does pop culture itself disrespect the National Anthem? Does the core of our entertainment culture show a lack of respect for the courage and heroism of those who defended our freedom?

Not at all. Rather, it is ringing proof that the U.S. people have created and enjoy a society of unprecedented freedom, where the pursuit of mindless and trivial escape has become the nut of our society.

The true disrespect for our National Anthem is not pop culture. It's expressed more in our daily decisions to accept foreign invasions of people and products aimed only at exploiting our country rather than building it. It's expressed in our selection of political leaders who put their own interests ahead the needs of our people.

The disrespect is not in pop culture, its in our political, economic, and social choices. Entertainment is not the institution taking a pee on our national symbols. Rather, it is the American people who disrespect the National Anthem through their lack of backbone, ideals, and patriotism.

Learn more about this author, Eric Lannak.
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