Can You Sing Your National Anthem? Pt. 2
Jul 28th, 2008 by Micah Tillman | Start the Discussion |
What actually happened was that the Colombian congregation suggested the following:
- They would sing their national anthem for the team from our church
- And then our team would sing the US anthem for them
But after the Colombians sang, our team refused. Instead, they tried to sing “Joyful, Joyful” (but forgot the words part-way through).
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One of the team members explained on Sunday:
“The Star-Spangled Banner” is a glorification of war, and a celebration of a country (or did he say “a government”?) that has done many evil things. And as Mennonites, they couldn’t sing it in good conscience.
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Why did the Americans feel that way about their national anthem, when the Colombians didn’t feel that way about theirs?
The theme of the two songs is essentially the same.
[Next Time: Part 3 -- What Have We Done?]
