Letter to the Editor 2/6

To the Editor, ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ I’m writing in response to Lewis Lehe’s Feb. 2 column, ‘Time to… To the Editor, ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ I’m writing in response to Lewis Lehe’s Feb. 2 column, ‘Time to retire National Anthem.’ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ A nation born under fire and bred to push the limits of history needs to change its anthem? Really? ‘ ‘ ‘ The growing feeling of affluence that has spread through the generations has led to a false sense of patriotism. A room full of college students who can’t interpret our anthem or even tell you what a rampart is makes me wonder if they truly understand the accomplishments of this nation, or if they simply enjoy the luxuries of freedom, substance and diversity granted to them by the dozens of generations who came before them. ‘ ‘ ‘ The National Anthem is not about ‘pumping people up’ or Super Bowl renditions. It’s about a nation that survived through the dark night of tyranny and revolution and has subsequently endured many such nights only to find its freedom intact time and again. ‘ ‘ ‘ Respect for past achievements and the confidence to leave future generations with the tools to protect our way of life is the true sense of national pride. If patriotism has truly been reduced to material comfort and flag pins, then maybe patriotism is dead and we should ‘cremate’ our National Anthem. If that’s the case, then all we need is a simple worded melody that drunken fans can sing along to and ignorant ‘patriots’ can be proud of. Colin N. Dohrmann School of Arts ‘amp; Sciences