Students at Lincoln Memorial Told to Stop Singing National Anthem
How weird can you get? Does any other nation ban the singing of its national anthem anywhere?
"A group of high school students attending a conservative leadership conference in Washington, D.C. said they were ordered by a security guard to stop singing the national anthem during a June 25 visit to the Lincoln Memorial.
“They told them to stop singing,” said Evan Gassman, a spokesman for the Young America’s Foundation. “I was taken aback. You wouldn’t expect a display of national patriotism to be censored."
U.S. Park Police confirmed that the students were in violation of federal law and their impromptu performance constituted a demonstration in an area that must remain “completely content neutral.”
Source
17 comments:
"Instead of doing as they were instructed, Gassman said the students resumed the song – an impromptu form of civil disobedience.
“If their idea of civil disobedience is singing the national anthem, then so be it,” Gassman said. “Let them disobey.”"
Awesome!
"“We need to make certain that all other visitors that don’t want to be a part of that or just choose to be tourists are able to do so in the same light that probably President Lincoln wanted – which is completely content neutral,” he said."
If this guy thinks Lincoln would have objected to the students singing the national anthem, or would have approved of "content neutral", he doesn't know Lincoln very well, nor even understood the words engraved in that memorial.
petty bureaucracy trumps all everywhere
This is one case where I agree with the guard. Having been to the Lincoln memorial, there are signs posted all around asking to refrain from loud expressions of any kind, so that others can have the peace they deserve in being there. It is disrespectful of others to think that your group should have special rights. Sing outside the memorial, but not inside.
This isn't about patriotism, like the group wants it to be, and it isn't about the current administration, as it is a standing rule, and has been through many administrations. If you change the rules for this group, you can destroy the sanctity of the memorial for many tourists to come.
Respecting the rights of others is not censorship, it is being responsible.
Bad communication by the guard causes a minor problem to become a news story.
The kids were singing in an area where the objective is to keep a solemn (i.e. quiet) and contemplative environment. The guard evidently failed to explain that they could move a very short distance to a point where they would be welcome to sing.
Making matters worse of course is the idiot who thinks they broke some sort of Federal law.
Anon 2:23 said;
"Respecting the rights of others is not censorship, it is being responsible."
Apparently, you believe it's ok to ignore the actual rights of some, simply to protect the "imaginary rights" of others. This may come as a shock to you, but there's no such thing as a constitutional right to quiet. Not yet anyway. But there is such a thing in the constitution as "freedom of expression", as in singing the National Anthem.
I'll bet you also believe that prohibiting people from saluting the flag in some places because it disturbs/offends others is ok. Have you ever seen anyone prohibited from singing "we shall overcome", no matter where they were or who was offended?
"I'll bet you also believe that prohibiting people from saluting the flag in some places because it disturbs/offends others is ok. Have you ever seen anyone prohibited from singing "we shall overcome", no matter where they were or who was offended?"
Completely wrong. I have never seen anyone saluting a flag disrupting someone's contemplation, nor have I seen signs asking people not to salute flags. When I visit a historical sight, I expect parents to watch their children, to not have people going past protective barriers, screaming, shouting, fighting, etc. I give the courtesy to others to be able to enjoy the sights, and expect the same courtesy back.
I would not think the group should be arrested, as they did not break any laws, but they should have been considerate of those around them. If nobody else was there, then it shouldn't have mattered.
I have never heard a group sing "we shall overcome" at any historical site I have visited, nor any other song, as I guess I have been fortunate enough to only go with considerate people.
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And, how would you all feel if a group of Nazi's were allowed to sing "Die Fahne Hoch" (the Nazi national anthem) in the Lincoln Memorial?
You see, the point of the law is not to censor, since public speech is allowed outside, and nearby. But, inside the Memorial, people are expected to behave with respect and the quiet that a Memorial deserves.
You can demonstrate in plenty of other places mere seconds from the inside of the Memorial. Would you want someone to be able to sing out whenever they wished inside a funeral parlor? The Lincoln Memorial is a solemn place where people are expected to behave with RESPECT. A demonstration? Please.
It's a demonstration for NOTHING, it's a made up controversy. Merely a propaganda event invented by Evan Glassman and the Young America's Foundation to get headlines and throw red meat to the right wing masses who eat this stuff up.
Like you.
I'm getting sick of all the impromptu performances, including groups of people that get together on a shopping mall to perform a Glee song or to do Michael Jackson's Thriller. Patriotism is no excuse to do whatever the hell you want wherever the hell you want to do it.
Freedom doesn't mean anarchy.
"inside the Memorial, people are expected to behave with respect and the quiet that a Memorial deserves."
I could agree with you on that point, but that's not the reason given for shutting them down. Remember these words:
"completely content neutral"
next time i go to the Lincoln Memorial, i will bring a saudi flag and do the islamic call to prayer, i bet anything no guard will tell me anything, they would be scared of the wrath of usama bin barack. But God forbid anything patriotic be sang or said.
No. They must not be prohibited from singing. If you want the area to remain content neutral you can try to achieve it by ordering them to leave, and if they refuse to leave while singing arrest them fro trespassing. No one should be ordering them to stop singing though.
Also you may charge some amount at the entrance and only allow them to enter if they sign an agreement that the amount will be forfeited if they sing.
Is the promblem that the judges are lazy morons and don't think it through to even notice such solutions , or do they actually WANT people to get used to deprivation of rights??
How could it be possible to insist that citizens on public property must surrender their First Amendment rights?
Um, hello! You are all missing the point! The government is now describing the Lincoln Memorial as, "an area that must remain 'completely content neutral.'"
WTF? The Lincoln Memorial is an area that memorializes one of our great presidents, and all he stood for. And this includes his religious beliefs, his morals, and values. To celebrate that with the National Anthem doing nothing more than showing support for what it memorializes and stands for.
I'm sick and tired of Political Correctness being shoved down our throats, diluting the real meaning behind the symbols that represent the united States.
And yes, a Nazi group does have the exact same right to sing pro-Nazi songs. While I may not agree with a Nazi, I will fight to the death for his right to express his opinion.
-sig
So Anon 2:23, what you are suggesting is that people who don't have the good sense to be considerate or polite, (according to YOUR standards) should be punished. I would call that very Gestapo'ish.
So Anon 2:23, what you are suggesting is that people who don't have the good sense to be considerate or polite, (according to YOUR standards) should be punished. I would call that very Gestapo'ish.
I would suggest that it obeying the rules of the facility or area.
Anon 12:39, True, however if the rules are utter crap to begin with (such as singing the National Anthem being considered demonstration in an area that must remain "completely content neutral") then THAT must be addressed. And that's the point: This Politically Correct climate has twisted the interpretation of the Constitution into something that is far different from its intentions. We need to take back what once was so that we can exercise our freedoms instead of being mandated by the government to comply to PC dictates.
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