Friday, August 14, 2009
Dear Editor,
At school each week, hand on heart, we sing the Belize National Anthem.
“Oh Land of the Free by the Carib Sea” — so far so good – “Our manhood we pledge to thy liberty” – and here, I cast my eyes around the schoolroom, where the majority of teachers and children, not to mention me, have no “manhood” to pledge.
Let this be the year when we amend our National Anthem to say, “Our courage we pledge to thy liberty,” or some other gender-inclusive word. The National Anthem does have other, deeper political problems, and perhaps deserves an overhaul, but at least this simple change could be made, which would bring the majority of the population back into the fold of meaning.
If you agree, how can we make this happen?
With kind regards,
Sue Harris