Claim: E-mail reproduces Barack Obama's statement about the U.S. national anthem.
Example:[Collected via e-mail, April 2008]
Obama Explains National Anthem Stance
Hot on the heels of his explanation for why he no longer wears a flag pin, presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama was forced to explain why he doesn't follow protocol when the National Anthem is played.
According to the United States Code, Title 36, Chapter 10,Sec. 171,
During rendition of the national anthem when the flag is displayed, all present except those in uniform are expected to stand at attention facing the flag with the right hand over the heart.
'As I've said about the flag pin, I don't want to be perceived as taking sides,' Obama said. 'There are a lot of people in the world to whom the American flag is a symbol of oppression. And the anthem itself conveys a war-like message. You know, the bombs bursting in air and all. It should be swapped for something less parochial and less bellicose. I like the song 'I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing.' If that were our anthem, then I might salute it.'
WHAAAAAAAT!!!!!!!!!!
Yes, ladies and gentlemen, this could possibly be our next president. I, for once, am speechless . . .
Origins: Back in October 2007, one of the hottest e-mail forwards was a picture capturing Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama standing in front of a U.S. flag
(at an Iowa political event) with his hands clasped in front of him during the playing of the U.S. nationalanthem (while other persons on the platform with him stood with their hands placed over their hearts). This photographic brouhaha soon mutated into a (false) claim that Barack Obama "refused to put his hand over his heart during the Pledge of Allegiance" and then into the (even more false) claim that "he refused to recite the Pledge of Allegiance" at all (rumors which the Obama campaign soon provided evidence to negate).
While this controversy was all the rage on the Internet, political columnist John Semmens included a bit at the end of one of his satirical "Semi-News" columns (found on the web site of The Arizona Conservative) offering a mock explanation from the Senator about his non-hand-over-heart stance, poking fun at Obama by having him voice the opinion that "the American flag is a symbol of oppression" and that the U.S. national anthem is too "bellicose" and should be replaced by something gentler like "I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing."
This bit of satire evidently came off as too believable to some readers, as it has since been excerpted from Semmens' column and forwarded via e-mail (without attribution) as a genuine statement from Senator Obama. However topical it might be, it's just a bit of political commentary-cum-humor, though, not the Senator's own words.
Last updated: 15 April 2008
The URL for this page is http://www.snopes.com/politics/obama/stance.asp
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