Politico Magazine Lead Story: Star Spangled Banner is Racist

Photo Credit: IJ ReviewTo many Americans, the rise of the terrorist Islamic State is among the major threats facing the country. Or the continued flow of illegal aliens across our southern border. Or the economy and the fact that a record number of us – some 92 million – are no longer in the labor force.

But Saturday night, in its lead story, Politico Magazine published this burning question: “Is it time to ditch the Star-Spangled Banner?” According to author Tim Widmer, its lyrics are racist:

One line taunts the British for their failure, and specifically calls out “the hireling and slave” who joined the British forces. That line calls attention to a fact that considerably weakens the song’s claim to celebrate “the land of the free” – the presence of significant numbers of African-Americans, fighting with the British in hopes of finding a personal freedom they had no chance of securing in the United States. Among the invading army were at least 200 “colonial marines”—escaped slaves from Virginia and Maryland, eager to fight against their former masters.

Read more from this story HERE.