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In reply to the discussion: Ruth Bader Ginsburg Calls NFL Anthem Protests ‘Dumb And Disrespectful’ [View all]Leopolds Ghost
(12,875 posts)I found the HBO Real Sports documentary by Bryant Gumbel from a couple weeks ago very enlightening.
It started during WWI as a means of expressing wartime patriotism and support for the war (at a time when people were being jailed and deported for speaking out against the war.) The anthem itself is not original, nor do other countries force their citizens to stand and sing national anthems. That is a product of the early 20th-century fascism, of which the US came dangerously close to being part of (with the previous ethno-nationalist movement of the 1920s-30s.)
The original salute required to "not disrespect" the flag (and hence not offend Ginsberg, et al) was none other than the fascist salute, per Bryant Gumbel. It was dropped in 1942 in favor of the silly (and non-valid military protocol) hand-over-heart civilian salute.
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