'The Land of the Free'

I don't think any other bit of US uber-jingoism gets up my nose more than this phrase.

What's the problem? The problem is the The.

To me, this phrase has stepped over that all important line. The line that divides:

(a) The undauntable optimism and national pride that helps keep any country-of-the-day on the crest of the wave.

-and-

(b) The kind of "we're on top so our way must be best" blinkered insularity which promotes external hate and equally skewed internal judgement calls.

Any State-siders here use this phrase? Anyone not see the problem with it? Any other free citizens of the world get pissed off by its over-simplicity?

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I never actually thought of it that way. Myself, I don't really use the phrase all that often. Whenever anybody asks me about America I just say good ol' US of A or just plain old America. Some people in the US do feel that they are better than everyone else, but the majority of people over here do not think so highly of themselves to say they are better than anyone. After seeing your view on this, I will try to keep "The Land of the Free" out of my list of names for the US.

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"You smell that? Do you smell that? Napalm, son. Nothing else in the world smells like that. I love the smell of napalm in the morning. You know, one time we had a hill bombed, for twelve hours. When it was all over I walked up. We didn't find one of 'em, not one stinkin' dink body. The smell, you know that gasoline smell, the whole hill. Smelled like... victory."

-Lieutenant Colonel Bill Kilgore

i didn't want to say anything in the "what country is the best" thread...but i did get an urge or two to vomit....sorry guys...it's the smugness of it.....

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http://www.last.fm/user/diezelpower/

the only "land of" phrase that i will wholeheartedly give to america is "the land of opportunity" but it is certainly not THE land of the free.

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Δύο άτομα. Μια μάχη. Κανένας συμβιβασμός.

"what?? the land of the free?? who ever told you that is your enemy!" RATM ...hehe...werd!

What is the defintion of the word "is" again?

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“The gladdest moment in human life, methinks, is a departure into unknown lands.” – Sir Richard Burton

Let me get this straight.... you're upset over a line taken from a song that was written almost 200 years ago?

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no, more because of it's overuse today...

I believe it stands for "eejuts are sarcastic"

Exactly.

Every nation has got their ludicrously patriotic songs - be they modern or old. This particular bit of jingoism just...

-Pisses off other 'free citizens' of the world more than any other phrase abounding at the moment.
-Plays too strongly to the natural 'empirical' tendency to believe in patriotic uniqueness and lone superiority.

Etc.

Worth getting annoyed about. But not upset my dear, not upset.




(Did you get annoyed or upset at me calling you 'my dear', incidently? )

Who cares? We are all aware that the "settlers" were oppressed religiously, AND old England had debtors prisons, right?

Give me a break! Everyone and their mother is offended at a gnat these days. Next, you'll want to sue.

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something witty goes here......

Fine. We'll just carry on refering to you as 'the land of the obese' - and live in a circle of pointless disrespect.

What is this? Take Aim at America and its Allies Month?

I thought the phrase was taken from The Star Spangled Banner... in which case it was probably written more as a pointed attack at Britain than anything else (i.e., dichotomy... we're THE land that's free from you people now).

Eh?

Sure, but it's now used more in the dichotomous sense of 'We're Free-er than the rest of you'. (Or indeed - 'We're the Freedom-givers' - which is also a position that can be overstated).

At least, that's how it comes across. In these post-9-11 jingo/fear years, that response isn't that surprising. It's just an ultimately self-defeating and false sentiment when over-jingo-ised.

That's what i'm suggesting.

Examples?

Because I live here, and I'm pretty sure I can count on one hand the number of times I've heard that phrase in the last five years.

While I understand the gist of what you are trying to say here Gols, I just do not see it. At least not so widespread and obligatory as you are making it seem. I can only of course speak from my own experience so I might be wrong, but I do not see anything wrong with being proud of ones country, and I am a pretty patriotic guy, but no way do I think I am better than anyone else becaue I live in America (I would be better even if I was Irish... actually I am...the "Elliott" clan rules! ) This reminds me of a story, and whiule I will not bore you with the whole thing, part of it goes something like this:

MAN: You know I love you baby, she is just a friend.

MAN'S WIFE: Yeah right!

FRIEND: Just a friend....just a friend, so being a friend isnt important?!

MAN'S WIFE: Yeah I suppose I am just a wife too.

MAN: Well after all I am just a man.

I am sure this statement "The Land of the Free" comes off like how you are saying, but take it from just a plain ol' American: I know when you think that we think "we're on top so our way must be best" you are thinking how egotistical we are, you are wrong . At least in my case... I mean have you seen the restrooms at a Texas Rest area?....phewwwwwwwwwwwww.

Yes, that's exactly what we mean with it.
It's not that it's a line from a song who was BEING HELD AS A PRISONER OF WAR AT THE TIME. It's that we think we're better than you, Golgot. And I don't mean "you all". I don't mean England. I mean YOU. We're better than YOU. You can be photographed with all the world leaders you please, and do all the educational good works you can find the time for, but every single person in America is better than you, because F Scott Keys said so, a couple hundred years ago.

Excuse me now, I need to go find my eyes. They seem to have rolled out of my head, somewhere.

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The Star-Spangled Banner
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

“The Star-Spangled Banner" is a poem written in 1814 by Francis Scott Key and is the national anthem of the United States of America. Key, a 35-year-old lawyer and amateur poet, wrote it after witnessing the bombardment of Fort McHenry in Baltimore, Maryland, by British ships in Chesapeake Bay during the War of 1812.

Set to the tune of "To Anacreon in Heaven," a popular British drinking-song, it became well-known as an American patriotic song. It was recognized for official use by the United States Navy (1889) and the White House (1916), and was made the national anthem by a Congressional resolution on 3 March 1931. Although the song has four stanzas, only the first is commonly sung today. Like the British national anthem "God Save the Queen," "The Star-Spangled Banner" is one of the few national anthems of the world without a country's name mentioned in the lyrics.

Maybe knowing a bit of history for the song will help unbunch your panties a bit Golgot.

I’m sorry...but after a summer of my kids finding reasons to bicker and be annoyed with each other over the smallest of things...this is exactly what this annoyance of yours sounds like to me...and I want to shake you. I think you’re making a mountain out of a mole hole....over-thinking and overanalyzing. Cripes...in the right mood anyone could take any phrase from any country’s national anthem and get needlessly worked up over it if they wanted to. Like...

“God save the Queen”...hmmm...why should God save the Queen? What about saving everyone else? Aren’t the little people of this world worth saving as well? No, I don't really think this...and in the right mood I could go on and on...but you know what I’m getting at.

Now...anyone else up for a drinking song?

YAY!!!!

Father Abraham had many sons
Many sons had Father Abraham
I am one of them and so are you

:-/ and yet...the rest of the world doesn't seem to get annoyed with any other particular nation as they do with americans on an ego trip...

Purple_Panther used it on the 'Best Country in the World' thread. That's what set me off.

I'm not saying it's used with huge frequency, but it does seem to have come more into vogue as a stand-alone phrase these days.


The song was being held prisoner? The poor thing!

Heh, very cute. I wasn't suggesting that cultural-superiority is the default belief of every State-sider, by any means, tho.

But what with all the 'democracy-exporting' pap put forward by your darling admin over recent years, it is a bit disturbing to see that phrase popping up in the common lexicon. As it were. (Yes, i'm now using words like lexicon purely to annoy you ).

My panties are fluttering cooly in the breeze thank you.

I recognise that most State-siders probably get the 'birth of the republic/freedom-fighter' vibe off the whole thing, steeped as you are in the history and context. But even within its context to say 'the' land of the free is slightly silly - although probably truer at the time. Moved into a modern context, and when used as a stand-alone phrase, it's palpably absurd.

And it does come across as insulting to others - and as a delusion of grandeur - whether that bothers you or not.

Incidently - if you really want to pick out a nasty phrase in a patriotic British song, try the 'Britain never never never will be slaves" one. Ugh. Thankfully tho - there's no extended modern context of people calling for enslaving others. Not often anyway

It's still one i'd rather see dropped - rousing as the song is on sporting occasions


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In summary, with bullet points n everything...

• It's used as a stand-alone phrase, not just in the national anthem.
  
• The historical context doesn't stop it from being a silly phrase.
  
• The current world context makes it seem a more dubious stand-alone concept.
  
• It comes across as unbearably arrogant/deluded to non state-siders.
  
• Some State-siders do buy into the idea of the US as the sole font of 'freedom'. I've talked with 'em. They're not a good 'export' - nor a good 'local product' either, when thinking in that mode, if y'ask me. They've gone a step too far.

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Come on then. Get your dukes up. Or swing your panties at me, or whatever