And yet another "warning email" that irritates my brain....
The accusation is against Democratic hopeful Barack Obama, claiming he a) did not say the Pledge of Allergiance and/or b) would not sing the National Anthem or put his hand over his heart. "Do we really want this Muslim as President of the US?" it warns.
Let's set things straight (again with the "bearing false witness" sheesh.)
The event in question was the singing of our National Anthem, The Star Spangled Banner. Before 1985--when Mr. Obama and I were kids---we were taught that you do *not* put your hand over your heart during the singing of the anthem. That was reserved for the Pledge. However, in 1985, The US Code for the American Flag was changed to include the hand over your heart for the Anthem as well. I sure didn't get the memo, as many others haven't either.
I've performed The Anthem at several sporting events. I was told explicitly to *not* use that gesture. So now that I know, I will place my hand over my heart. I shudder to think how many people thought I was being unpatriotic (by the way--how many of "those critics" even know all the words or have the guts to sing it in front of thousands of people? Yeah, none, that's what I thought.)
I like Mr. Obama, and quite frankly, I'm torn between the 3 Democratic hopefulls (I absolutely will *not* be voting Republican). But anyone that would let some urban legend email sway their vote? That's unpatriotic.
UPDATE: One of my readers, Psipsina, wrote "Barak Obama is not a Muslim, either. He belongs to the United Church of, you know, Christ.
http://www.snopes.com/politics/obama/muslim.asp
Why do so many people assume that a black man with a funny name is a Muslim, anyway?"
First off, let me say that I would not assume anyone is a certain religion based on color or name. Both myself and my husband have read in newspaper articles that he was Muslim. Serves me right for trusting the news : /
Thank you very much for pointing out my error (as well as providing the correct link!), and my apologies if I offended anyone.
Labels: Barack Obama , National Anthem , Star Spangled Banner
The accusation is against Democratic hopeful Barack Obama, claiming he a) did not say the Pledge of Allergiance and/or b) would not sing the National Anthem or put his hand over his heart. "Do we really want this Muslim as President of the US?" it warns.
Let's set things straight (again with the "bearing false witness" sheesh.)
The event in question was the singing of our National Anthem, The Star Spangled Banner. Before 1985--when Mr. Obama and I were kids---we were taught that you do *not* put your hand over your heart during the singing of the anthem. That was reserved for the Pledge. However, in 1985, The US Code for the American Flag was changed to include the hand over your heart for the Anthem as well. I sure didn't get the memo, as many others haven't either.
I've performed The Anthem at several sporting events. I was told explicitly to *not* use that gesture. So now that I know, I will place my hand over my heart. I shudder to think how many people thought I was being unpatriotic (by the way--how many of "those critics" even know all the words or have the guts to sing it in front of thousands of people? Yeah, none, that's what I thought.)
I like Mr. Obama, and quite frankly, I'm torn between the 3 Democratic hopefulls (I absolutely will *not* be voting Republican). But anyone that would let some urban legend email sway their vote? That's unpatriotic.
UPDATE: One of my readers, Psipsina, wrote "Barak Obama is not a Muslim, either. He belongs to the United Church of, you know, Christ.
http://www.snopes.com/politics/obama/muslim.asp
Why do so many people assume that a black man with a funny name is a Muslim, anyway?"
First off, let me say that I would not assume anyone is a certain religion based on color or name. Both myself and my husband have read in newspaper articles that he was Muslim. Serves me right for trusting the news : /
Thank you very much for pointing out my error (as well as providing the correct link!), and my apologies if I offended anyone.
Labels: Barack Obama , National Anthem , Star Spangled Banner