Joy and the National Anthem

National anthems in many cases reflect the spirit of bygone eras, often marked by the violence at the birth of the nation. For the realisation of the world of joy, such verses are hardly suitable and should gradually give way to more appropriate versions.

For example, the lyrics of Fratelli d’Italia sound very warlike and turn against the humiliations Italy has suffered, and the Marseillaise is originally a war song for the Rhine Army. In its original version, our German national anthem caused the world to censor it. In the current, reduced version, its language is not yet marked by gender equality and its message is nevertheless rather limited. Such backward-looking views are more likely to perpetuate old resentments than to establish beautiful relations between peoples. I think we can do better. Where it would be advisable we could promote the vision of our nation as a land of joy through a newly developed version that expresses these values.

For those who are interested: on the German version of this website there is a first proposal for a new German national anthem.

For those who are interested: on the German version of this website there is a first proposal for a new German national anthem.