The "Hand Over The Heart Clause" as you would like to call it is out of date...by who's opinion? This from the same ideals of schools not reciting The Pledge Allegiance every morning before school.
Simply by the phrasing of the code... it actually says headdress... when the last time you heard someone call it a hat or something of the like a headdress?
"Modern custom does not require a hand over the heart, said Anne Garside, director of communication for the Maryland historical Society, home of the original manuscript of The Star-Spangled Banner.
"I think the bottom line is that you show respect with your demeanor," she said. "Whether you put your hand over your heart, hold your hat at shoulder level or waist level, is really in this day and age irrelevant."
(same site as before:
http://www.snopes.com/politics/obama/anthem.asp )
Either way, I don't believe failing to put your hand over your heart makes you un-american; it's a symbolism... it doesn't really say anything about who you are or what you believe.
Protocol
When the song is performed in public, the US National Anthem Code, adopted in 1942, specifies the etiquette rules for playing and responding to the song. The audience members are expected to face The American Flag if one is displayed, and stand in an attitude of respectful attention. If the flag is not present, the audience faces the direction of the music and still stands in a respectful attention.
People in uniform, including military personnel, fire service and law enforcement officers, are expected to salute or "present arms" during The National Anthem from the first note and hold the salute until the last note is played.
People not in military or other uniforms are expected to remove their hats and place their right hands over their hearts.
United States Code, Title 36, Chapter 10, Sec. 171
That was entirely unnecessary since I'd already made mention to it, but thank you for posting the entire section.
The National Anthem was not a drinking song...the lyrics were written by Francis C. Scott and was set to the tune of a British "drinking song" which was written for The Anacreon-tic Society...a London Social Club. Hmmmm...the original settlers of America were from Britain...how coincidental. The Anacreon-tic Society Song was already popular in the United States and set to various lyrics. Set to Key's poem and renamed, "The Star-Spangled Banner" would soon become a well-known American patriotic song...see "Hand Over The Heart Code" above.
The words were written during the war of 1812 (not the revolutionary war as many believe). Not until 1931 did it become the national anthem... In the late 19th century it began to be used by the Army and Navy in ceremonies. Lets look at this from a logical stand point; it was put to the tune of a drinking song and for most of its history was not any official song for anything. I can tell you that I've personally seen men too intoxicated to stand up belting out the anthem with the rest of the bar... so would it be too far to believe the song has spent a good deal of its life coming off the tongue of persons in a bar? Especially given it was already based on a "social club's" song? I think not. Does that take from the meaning of the words? No... It's just making a point that the idea of facing the flag and putting your hand over your heart is, in relation to the age of the song, a fairly new tradition.
Oh, and by the way..."the flag behind them is in fact stuck on"? Yea...no.
I stand corrected about flag placement... but the point is still ultimately the same... if you want to look at the flag code, every single person on stage was wrong... not a one of them were facing the flag.
This Video brought to you by the great folks from ABC.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YxcYV1bBO5Q
By the way, Obama doesn't like to wear The US Flag as a lapel pin either!
http://rawstory.com/news/2007/Obama_doesnt_put_hand_over_heart_1022.html
As for the lapel pin; this is nothing more than "tradition" there is no law requiring it, no written etiquette. Further... get a look at this:
http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/10/05/whats-on-a-lapel/
If you notice in there, out of 8 democrats attending a national debate, only three had any lapel pins at all... NONE of those were the US Flag... Out of 8 republicans, two wore lapel pins... ONE of which was a US Flag.
Wearing a little pin on your lapel means absolutely nothing. I think McCain's patriotism is unquestionable... and he's not wearing one. Says a lot doesn't it?
As an interesting note, the US Army up until early 2004 did not have a US flag on the uniform as a standard item. It was only worn for deployments or for "forward deployed" units. The reason it was changed so the reverse flag is worn army wide on the right sleeve is actually not as a result of patriotism as many would believe. It amounted to simple economics; it cost too much to pay for the affixing and removal of the flag every time someone went through a deployment cycle. They determined that as a country at war with a high deployment rate, all would wear the flag.
People put far too much emphasis on symbolism... and fail to back it up with action. As a service member with two deployments under my belt... I'd much rather have someone that doesn't go out of their way to show patriotism through symbolism yet demonstrates it through deeds and actions than the so many people out there that give you empty words and gestures (flag lapel pin, flag flying, etc. etc.).
See what I'm getting at; patriotism isn't measure by the amount of $hit you wear or put up on your house.
I'm also playing a little devil's advocate because I do feel that Obama is getting a raw deal on how people are trying to portray him. But then again, what do you expect? He's got very little national level experience, so his opponents don't have many relevant facts to criticize unlike everyone else trying to get a shot at the oval office.
And again... I go to the other side of the spectrum on virtually all issues when compared to Obama; but I also don't buy into all the smear campaign BS.
