Post 12: The symbol of Patriotism
For this post, I wanted to use the sarcastic poem "next to of course god america i" which uses the symbol of patriotism in comparison to how the song "American Idiot" by Green Day uses this symbol.
In both the poem and song, the authors are mocking the idea of patriotism in their times, and the way that people blindly follow this idea without knowing what they are truly supporting.
In lines 7 and 8 of the poem it reads "thy sons acclaim your glorious name by gorry by jingo by gee by gosh by gum" which I have taken to mean that though these patriots declare America to be glorious, but it is all a bunch of nonsense(even to them). This reminded me of a verse in the third stanza of the song that says "Now everybody do the propaganda And sing along to the age of paranoia." These two remind me of each other because in the poem it is talking about how people are declaring the nonsense, and in the song it is also referencing everybody doing the same thing.
Overall, I think these two have a very similar meaning; That a lot of people, at this time, had a false perception of patriotism and didn't really know what it is that they 'stood' for. Both the poem and the song beautifully executed the symbol of patriotism. The poem took a more sarcastic route, without saying these things were bad out front, while the song took a much more direct route. The first line of the song even says "Don't want to be an American idiot!" haha.
In both the poem and song, the authors are mocking the idea of patriotism in their times, and the way that people blindly follow this idea without knowing what they are truly supporting.
In lines 7 and 8 of the poem it reads "thy sons acclaim your glorious name by gorry by jingo by gee by gosh by gum" which I have taken to mean that though these patriots declare America to be glorious, but it is all a bunch of nonsense(even to them). This reminded me of a verse in the third stanza of the song that says "Now everybody do the propaganda And sing along to the age of paranoia." These two remind me of each other because in the poem it is talking about how people are declaring the nonsense, and in the song it is also referencing everybody doing the same thing.
Overall, I think these two have a very similar meaning; That a lot of people, at this time, had a false perception of patriotism and didn't really know what it is that they 'stood' for. Both the poem and the song beautifully executed the symbol of patriotism. The poem took a more sarcastic route, without saying these things were bad out front, while the song took a much more direct route. The first line of the song even says "Don't want to be an American idiot!" haha.
I think that you chose the perfect song and poem to compare. They both do mock the idea of patriotism. If people would do their research before just blindly following these ideas, their perspective would be totally different. Most people do not know the true meaning of patriotism, they just believe what they hear politicians say and feed into their every word. The first line of the song has great symbolism to it and has an awesome paradox.
ReplyDeleteI LOVE your song and poem choices! Everyone did such a great job on this post, the resemblances are uncanny! A lot of us Americans so blindly conform to the status quo. It's our MO. I also noticed that the poem was subtle about its' dissing on patriotism. The Green Day song is unmistakably clear about its' attitude. Thanks for sharing, Clara.
ReplyDeleteAwesome post this week, and a good old school song for the ones that are a bit more seasoned here, lol. We used the same poem but I enjoyed how you saw a different meaning behind it than I did. Good job.
ReplyDeleteThis was a great comparison! The song and poem choice was great
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