At the cusp of this new year, we are all dazed by the endless bloodshed and the incessant wars on our globe. We often feel like throwing our hands in the air in desperation, but we well know that this would lead us to nowhere. As we pray and hope for interventions from all corners, and by all the savvy veterans and men and women of power, we have yet one area to visit. Have we thought deep enough about how much many of our national anthems downplay all our desires and hopes for lasting peace? Many anthems sang by proud citizens of numerous countries continue to imprint a thirst for blood and war; the blandishing of swords, the sound of canons, an insidious promise of revenge, a stiffening of heart, and similar cowardly debasing responses. The flowing of blood is oft repeated in these questionable national songs, sung into the ears of their young ones and their entire population over the years. What are we left to expect!
Notably, these anthems are sang at contests, conferences, world game events, in schools, universities, political parties, and at all kinds of social gatherings. It boggles my mind to still read or hear a nation sing an anthem like the French one, “La Marseillaise” , with the lines like, “In the countryside, do you hear the roaring of these fierce soldiers? They come right to our arms to slit the throats of our sons, our friends!” This disturbing anthem continues to talk about images that churn your inside out. Consider the chorus that goes, “Grab your weapons, citizens! Form your battalions! Let us march! Let us march! May the impure blood (of the enemies) Water our fields!” In the same vein, the Mexican anthem beats all others in swearing out war as in this stanza of their anthem, “War, war! with no mercy to any who shall try to tarnish the coats of arms of the Fatherland! War, war! The national banners Shall be drenched in the waves of blood.War, war! On the mountain, in the valley …”. Grab ahold of this – these are but just a few examples!
There are, however, a number of rejuvenating anthems with a spirit of peace and hope. Take for instance the national anthem of India that is a lovely prayer of hope, and the Liberian anthem that is filled with joy and celebration, and that, coupled with the happy one of Pakistan that states, “ Blessed be the sacred land, Happy be the bounteous realm. Thou symbol of high resolve, O Land of Pakistan!” The Nigerian anthem and the Jamaican anthem are truly edifying, while the Brazilian national anthem is a real calming encounter with nature and health. All this said, It gravely saddens our hearts that the world is still littered by a number of violent anthems with symbols of machetes, swords, and similar weapons, plus the violent threats breathed out like the legendary fiery dragons.
Seeming to Speak to their country, the anthem of Greece begins with the words, “We recognize you by the fearsome sharpness, of your sword, I recognize you by your face that hastefully defines the land” Halting just a moment now, Why would we have to refer to swords at all? Some anthems like the Netherlands’s “Het Wilhelmus” may be too old and needing a rewrite, but they at least do not hold images of death, war, bloodshed, and passionate animosity. Joltingly now, we bump into the Star-Spangled Banner of the United States, resounding “O’er the ramparts we watch’d, were so gallantly streaming? And the rockets’ red glare, the bombs bursting in air, Gave proof thro’ the night that our flag was still there.” What I am about to posit may sound in bits counterintuitive but, dare I say, It will be difficult to pave off war in this style, with images of bombs incessantly bursting in the air.
There are also those nations, seeking to teach their children to stand steadfast in the face of humiliation and dominion, Keep a certain level of sensitive sentiments in their anthems. Take for example countries like Peru that have a verse in its anthem that goes, “For a long time, the oppressed Peruvian dragged the ominous chain. Condemned to a cruel servitude, for a long time, for a long time, for a long time, he quietly moaned. But as soon as the sacred cry, Freedom!…the humiliated neck raised up … neck raised up.” The neck raised up and swore never again to allow humiliation, and this the Peruvians declare, should be taught to all its children. May be they should, but in the end these escapist sentiments of the powerless may not yield much. Instead of griping, We may have to seek for better ways. It is difficult to judge a nation that goes through oppression and all forms of servitude and soul-shredding encounters. But still, with such reminders, the seeds of hate and anger may be newly dispersed for germination.
I strongly do believe that for the sake of our world peace, We may have to urgently rethink the rhetoric in our national anthems, because there is much in a word here! There may be other ways of dealing with those that tyrannize over us. We need to do all possible to stop the mayhem we are visiting on each other in this decade and in more to come, and revamping our anthems is already a step in launching our space shuttle to world peace. The world is sick, weary, dispirited, and suffering from the carnage and angst. Passing everything through the strainer of judgement, We are all loitering on the borders of a real world explosion, and look at us pushing in the embers!
I need to share this too. It was with so much nostalgia that I recently listened to our Ugandan anthem that is a beautiful prayer and a real beckon of hope. But I still wondered, how long are we going to be a pearl in a crown, where only a few of us know what a pearl is about? I also got the insight that in the end it was some stranger in the names of Winston Churchill (someone with a plentitude of power, we can now see) that called our nation thus in 1908, and we sucked it in. Now the question is, What do we call ourselves or what would we wish to call our nation at last? Something we originally choose ourselves. We need a broader gaze. Can we choose to be more active and worthy of reckon than a crimson pearl in a crown, whose type no one wears in Uganda? We have since evolved into a very active nation of indisputable repute in many facets, and our brand is higher than our vegetation, rivers, lakes, climate, and attitude. Do we concede to get stuck in Churchill’s groove or can we give ourselves a new name worth our salt? There is always time to think things over! Let us hitch our wagons to higher stars. Well, back again to revamping anthems!
SR DR NAJJUKA SOLOME
PHILOSOPHY CENTRE, JINJA
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