I just had another one of my random thoughts.
If you haven't been to a Skull Session (held two hours before every OSU home football game), the Marching Band always preforms two "warm-up" songs before their run-through of that day's halftime and pregame shows. One of the songs they always do as a "warm-up" includes these lyrics:
Eternal Father, Strong to save,
Whose arm hath bound the restless wave,
Who bid'st the mighty Ocean deep
Its own appointed limits keep;
O hear us when we cry to thee,
for those in peril on the sea.
That's right, the Hymn of the United States Navy. It's also a Protestant hymn entitled "Eternal Father, Strong to Save," and is found also in some Episcopal Hymnals.
Here's my question. The Ohio State University is a state school. With all the bruhaha going around about seperation of Church and State, how can TBDBITL preform the song and sing the above verse? I know it's obviously the Navy Hymn and you can't say "United States Navy" without "United States", but in this day and age, doesn't this seem a bit risky? Personally, I don't mind the hymn, but it wouldn't shock me if someone (or someones) tried to organize an opposition to it. If they have Christian (such as this, or a manger on government property), isn't there something about equal time to other religons?
Do the band directors allow optional singing for members who may find personal issues with the above verse? Should they? I suppose you could always not join band if you didn't feel like singing that song, but would it seem fair to deny entrance into OSUMB because someone doesn't feel comfortable singing a religious hymn?
It IS an interesting subject, I think. Seperation of Church and State does seem like it should be an "all or nothing" business, but it's not. How many times have we seen our government leaders offer prayers? And here's another example of where you may think the two wouldn't be friendly with each other, but apparently they are.
And before I go, here's a link to more than I knew about the song 15 minutes ago.
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I asked my roommate, who is in TBDBITL, and he said singing in that song is optional, but because band members are excited to perform and such, most sing and pay little attention to the lyrics. It's just amazing how so many people miss these things.
We play the Navy Hymn as a continuation of our military tradition rather than as a religious statement. Until the 1950's the OSUMB was directly affiliated with the ROTC program and we still wear a version of the 1920's ROTC uniform. Now we aren't associated with one another, but we still have a very close relationship (we play for some of their events, they do our uniform inspections before the Michigan game, etc.). Either before or after playing the Navy Hymn at Skull Session our announcer requests that all the veterans in the audience stand to be recognized. It's not just an OSUMB tradition; it's in honor of the men and women in all branches of our armed services. Because it's presented as such, rather than some form of religious statement I've never heard anyone object to the song. Actually, we've had a lot of feedback from veterans saying how much it means to them. If it's acceptable for the Navy itself to make use of a Christian hymn I don't see why it would be unacceptable for any other state sponsored institution or group to use it as well.
Don't get me wrong, i'm not offended by the playing of the Navy Hymn. In fact, it's one of the three personal highlights I look forward to at Skull Session. I know it's meant as a nod to the military tradition. I know about the uniform inspections, but didn't know about playing at their events.
I just find it strange that some people have issues with combining religion and politics, yet it's seemingly very selective what they complain about. I'm glad they don't complain, but it's weird how some Church & State stuff goes unnoticed, while other stuff (such as a cross on the Statehouse lawn) may see all sorts of protests.
And in case anyone's wondering what those other two highlights are? Fight The Team (Soft & Slow), which you can get at the below link, and a preview of the rundown. "When is Script Ohio?" "What's the halftime show?" Hey, I know.
Soft & Slow link:
http://tbdbitl.osu.edu/?action=a022
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