Two hundred years ago today, Francis Scott Key wrote the poem “Defence of Fort M’Henry” [sic], which would later be put to music and renamed “The Star Spangled Banner.” It became our national anthem in 1931. If you ever wonder why the USA is constantly going to war, think about how our national song celebrates a military battle, rather than freedom.
In the early 1970s, comedian Albert Brooks thought it was time to let the American people write a new national anthem. Watch the results here.