Archie Bunker, the lovable bigoted protagonist of 1970s sitcom “All in the Family,” is getting some attention today for something he said about the national anthem back in 1979. During the sitcom’s fifth season, the Archie and his son in law Meathead gathered around the television set to watch a New York Jets football game and stand for “The Star-Spangled Banner.” In the clip, Meathead explains to Archie why he says the anthem is not a good song since it glorifies the horrors of war. “That is one terrible song,” Meathead complains to his father-in-law. “Don’t start up nothing with me, Meathead. I’m watching the game. That’s a beautiful song, and shut your face.” “Huh? The song glorifies war, and even as a song, it stinks. Nobody can remember the words.”
“You’re going to ruin this game for me?” Bunker lashed back. “Can you remember the words?” “Certainly I can!” Bunker shouts.
Meathead was taking this stance against the anthem as it was composed during the war of 1812 between the fledgling United States of America and Great Britain. However, modern-day critics of the national anthem insist that it is racist against African Americans, brown, and indigenous people of color. Bunker who is described in the show as a hardworking and patriotic American, who had served in the armed forces, cannot stand Meatheads comments and he retaliates immediately. This leads to Meathead challenging him to recite the anthem where by fails even though he sings it with gusto. This clip has brought up a lot of heat and it could be seen in some of the comments on this delightfully funny clip from ‘All in the Family’ on YouTube. Comments such as: “When those two argue, Mike is usually in the right about things, but there are two episodes when Archie is correct, and Mike is wrong. One of them is this episode when Mike is disrespecting our National Anthem.”
Does the national anthem glorify war? I think that in that clip Archie is not dismissive of the national anthem, but responds with the same “rah-rah” attitude that he does to everything. I can’t put my finger on it, but something about his way of speaking (like when he talks about war) makes me think he’s only saying what most patriotic Americans would say. In addition, Archie responds to Meathead with the same reverence as those who stand for the anthem usually have, and I can’t help but feel that Archie is only responding to Meathead in a way he knows will make him look bad. In my personal view, I do not think the national anthem glorifies war since it was written during war to motivate people to fight for their freedom. What do you think of this funny clip?
