Singing along with the anthem

[larryblawson]

I was always under the impression that one should sing along when the National Anthem is performed at a public event . Am I halucinating ?

[Peter Ansoff]

Hello, Larry,

I was always under the impression that one should sing along when the National Anthem is performed at a public event . Am I halucinating ?

It's very common to sing along with the national anthem at public events, although it's certainly not mandatory to do so (which is fortunate -- some of us have trouble hitting all those high notes!).

Seriously, I'm not sure exactly what you mean by "should" -- as far as I know there's no official rule one way or the other, and I'm not sure who would make or enforce a rule like that.

Peter Ansoff

[Holly7]

Speaking of singing (or playing for that matter) our National Anthem, I saw an interview many years ago on Johnny Carson I believe it was - he had this guest singer on & for some reason they got on the topic of the Star Spangle Banner . . . The man said, that once the song begins, it "MUST" be continued, because to start & then abruptly stop is disrespectful. Can this be verified?

[Peter Ansoff]

The man said, that once the song begins, it "MUST" be continued, because to start & then abruptly stop is disrespectful. Can this be verified?

Well, I'm not sure how one would "verify" this, and it would depend on the circumstances. If the performer was forced to stop singing because of some sort of accident (loss of power, fire, medical problem, etc.) I doubt that he/she would be accused of disrespect.

Respect (for the flag, the national anthem, or whatever) doesn't come from slavishly following an arbitrary set of rules. It comes from the attitude of the performer, and how the event is perceived by observers. Obviously, that's a bit subjective -- different people react to things in different ways. Oliver Wendell Holmes said, “We live by symbols, and what shall be symbolized by any image of the sight depends upon the mind of him who sees it.” I'd say that that applies to things that we hear, as well.

Peter Ansoff

[fast1]

i guess it all comes down to the personal desecration i guess