A Letter to the Washington Post

In light of my recent rant about national anthems, I had to share this letter to the editor of the our local news rag. It seems I'm not the only one who gets annoyed by poorly rendered anthems.


Treat the Anthem With Respect

Friday, July 27, 2007; A20

Come on, Nationals -- get the national anthem right!

We stood at attention before Sunday's game and were subjected to yet another embarrassing mutilation of "The Star-Spangled Banner."

This has become an all too common occurrence before Washington Nationals games.

The "American Idol" approach may be acceptable for other portions of the game, but the national anthem (especially when sung in the nation's capital) must not be butchered.

We humbly suggest a different approach: Pick a few members of our fine military bands to share the workload. There are many highly able people who know exactly how the anthem is to be sung and who would bring honor to the Nationals.

The fans attending the games deserve better.

DEAN HESS

STEPHEN HUNT