By Robert Whiting (2016)
Have you ever tried to sing America’s national anthem?
Oh say can you see,
By the dawn’s early light,
What so proudly we hailed
By the twilight’s last gleaming,
And the rockets’ red glare,
The bombs bursting in air—
It is not an easy thing to do. The melody is difficult. It is too long. And there are too many high notes; too much breath control is required. Written in the early 19th century to celebrate a victory in battle over the British (and borrowed from a British song about boozing and womanizing), it was adopted as the official US national anthem in 1931.
For a time a debate arose over whether people listening to the anthem on the radio were required to stand. Said one government representative, “At the bridge table, at the dining table, out fishing—I don’t care if you’re in the tub, you ought to stand and face the direction from which the anthem is coming.”
In 1942, two students who had refused to stand for the national anthem when it was played at a movie theater were fined $200 each.
As time passed, it became routine to play it before every MLB game, usually with a guest singer—a pop star—to lead everyone in the stadium in song.
In the beginning, everyone was supposed to stand at attention as a sign of respect, but by the mid-1950s crowds had become less erect, less attentive and less respectful as the anthem was played. Such was the case in Baltimore, where the Orioles’ GM Arthur Ehlers, a World War I veteran, found fan behavior so distasteful that he suspended the playing of the anthem, until a month later, when the Baltimore City Council applied pressure on him to reinstate it.
These days, the anthem is considered a minor annoyance, to be endured rather than enjoyed. Writing in 1973, sportswriter Dave Anderson described the full integration of the ritual into sports events over the postwar decades. “It never occurred to most people to think about it,” he wrote. “When the music started, they stood up. When the music stopped, they sat down… In sports, the anthem has evolved into more of a signal than anything else. Hey, the game’s about to start.”
As the fans stand and the band begins to play, note how many people are locked into their cell phones, sipping their beer or doing worse. Most people seem to be counting the seconds until they can yell “Play ball.” In Baltimore these days, fans yell “O!” when they reach the penultimate line, “Oh say does the Star-Spangled Banner yet wave.” All in all, there is not much patriotism involved.
This season, disrespecting the national anthem has become a political statement for Black protestors unhappy with discrimination in the US. It started when San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick began kneeling on one knee while the anthem was played instead of standing. Many imitators followed among Black professional athletes. Some called the anthem, and the flag it is played for, a symbol of oppression and tyranny, pointing to persistent social inequities in the US (e.g., Black men comprise 15% of the American male population but 40% of the national prison population, and are far more likely to be stopped by police and arrested for drug use than whites). President Obama endorsed kneeling during the anthem as a legitimate form of protest.
In MLB, a reverse phenomenon has emerged: after the anthem is done, a player from each team will remain outside the dugout for as long as possible—whoever cracks first, loses. On September 22, Cardinals’ Jose Martinez and Rockies’ Carlos Estevez conducted a standoff that lasted so long the start of the game was actually delayed. But MLB is only 8% Black, compared to the NFL, where it is more than two-thirds Black.
Japan has had its own interesting history with Kimigayo, in my opinion a more interesting melody to listen to than the Star-Spangled Banner—peaceful, languid, contemplative and inspiring all at the same time.
According to a survey conducted by TV Asahi, most Japanese people perceived “Kimigayo” as an important song even before the passage of the Act on National Flag and Anthem in 1999. However, a poll that same year conducted by the Mainichi Shimbun found that most respondents opposed legislation making it the national anthem, or felt the Diet should take more time in passing such a law. Many Japanese students, who must sing the song at entrance and graduation ceremonies, say they cannot understand the old language of the lyrics and are not educated on its historical uses. Controversies surrounding the use of the anthem in school events still remain.
Many people still associate it with Japan’s militaristic past, and there have been instances of teachers across Japan opposing and blocking its use and refusing to stand when it is played. Osaka mayor Toru Hashimoto called them ‘criminals,’ while in Tokyo, teachers brought criminal complaints against Tokyo Governor Shintaro Ishihara for ordering teachers to honor the Hinomaru flag and the Kimigayo anthem. Right-wing uyoku groups have harassed those who fail to show proper respect for the flag.
Personally, I think “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” is the only song that should be played at MLB stadiums. Leave the fans alone and let them enjoy the game. There is too much required patriotism in Japan, and as for Japan, I will take Rokko Oroshi any time.
Tokyo Junkie 