That’s because what matters about this “Star-Spangled Banner” isn’t what Hendrix thought it was, if he even knew exactly. Rather it’s what he meant to leave us free to think it was. Thus it’s an image of America that Americans dismayed by what America has become can cherish. Amid the blah blah woof woof of flag-pinned liars and flag-waving know-nothings, it’s a way for those of us who thought America would never have to fight fascism again to remember that we’re doing so to make our beloved nation the land of the free and the home of the brave.
https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/music/story/2019-08-13/jimi-hendrixs-star-spangled-banner-is-the-anthem-we-need-in-the-age-of-trump
Because fifty years on, we’re still here. And it’s still as problematic.
But we’re still resisting.
Featured Photo by Chris Neacsu on Unsplash