By
Donald H. Harrison
We associate "The Star Spangled Banner" with ball games— so much
so, that there are people who automatically think the phrase "Play
Ball!" whenever they conclude singing the anthem.
So it was no surprise to hear it sung Saturday evening, March 29, at the Lake
Elsinore Diamond, where the Storm, a Class-A farm team in the Padres system,
was tromped 8-0 by the Padres in a pre-season exhibition game.
On the other hand, it was indeed a surprise— and a pleasant one, so far as I
was concerned— to hear it sung March 25 at the San Diego Opera's production of
Tobias Picker's Therese Raquin. When I attended previous productions of
the opera this season, including Fidelio and Norma, there had been
no playing of "The Star Spangled Banner."
Both expressions of patriotism reflected favorably on members of our Jewish
community — Gary Jacobs, owner of the Lake Elsinore Storm, and Ian Campbell,
general director of the San Diego Opera.
Opening ceremonies for the Storm-Padres game included three young men from Sky
Dive Elsinore consecutively parachuting across the first-base line of the Lake
Elsinore Diamond and running off their jumps to second base. To the further
appreciation of the near-sellout crowd, the last of the skydivers, dressed in an
Uncle Sam costume, landed with a large American flag flying
from his parachute's rigging.
Players for the Diamond Backs, an Oceanside Valley Little League team,
accompanied Lake Elsinore Storm players out to their defensive positions, while
other players for both the Storm and the Padres lined up on the first and third
baselines respectively.
Then, in what seemed an American version of dor l'dor (from generation to
generation), the caps of Major Leaguers, Minor Leaguers and Little Leaguers came
off in unison as Joelle James sang the National Anthem with a strong and true
voice. The crowd so appreciated her efforts that she was brought back in the
middle of the Fourth Inning Stretch to sing "God Bless America."
A group called Homegrown Homefront urged attendees to go to the Promenade behind
the stands to sign a huge petition in support of American soldiers in Iraq.
"A lot of these ideas come from our national association," Jacobs told
Heritage. "But I support them wholeheartedly. We need to support the
men and women who are putting their lives at risk and show that support to their
families... Every Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, home games will have free
admittance to military families."
* * *
Ian Campbell, general director of the opera, told Heritage that he had
the opera's orchestra strike up "The Star Spangled Banner" during the
entire run of Therese Raquin as another expression of support for the
American troops in Iraq. He said he plans to review the practice before deciding
whether to implement it in future productions.
"I received three e-mails criticizing me for having it played,"
Campbell said after the first performance. "One said I was war-mongering;
another said I was supporting an illegal government — that of President George
W. Bush— and the third person said he was embarrassed. I replied to each that
I disagreed, that it didn't matter whom you voted for or what you believe about
the government, the National Anthem is a unifying song of our country.
It's not for a political party, and it's not for a policy."
Campbell said he also received a half-dozen phone calls from people thanking him
for striking up the National Anthem and saying that "it was wonderful to
hear."
Although requested to do so, not everyone in the audience stood up for the
playing of "The Star Spangled Banner," which Campbell took as their
way of silently protesting. He said the right to protest is an important aspect
of American democracy.
Himself the son of a career Australian military man, Campbell noted that San
Diego County is home to many families of Marines and Sailors. Playing the
National Anthem, he said, "is acknowledgment that there are wives and
children here with loved ones overseas and in danger."
Before directing the National Anthem to be played, Campbell told the opera's
senior staff and board president Iris Strauss about his desire to show
solidarity with the troops and their families. "To a man and a woman, they
said 'these are our people,'" Campbell said proudly.
|