The ‘My National Anthem Challenge’ Gives A New Spin To The Controversy


“Eff yo’ anthem!” Whew…felt good to get that off my chest.

Actually, I have no problem with the national anthem itself; my problem is with all the hoopla over whether or not someone stands, sits, kneels, or harlem shakes while the doggone thing plays before a game where grown men get paid to smash each other. So many people are infuriated over football players kneeling, while MOST of America sits on their duffs at home, drinking beer and trying to fast forward the Tivo. It makes zero sense.

Can we be real and say we really don’t care what people do while this song plays because, tbh, it has not had that big of an impact on our real lives? Yes, God bless America, land that I love and all (actually, that would be a better song to sing before sporting events…) but the national anthem has not played as big of a part in our upbringings as other songs have.

Luckily, a couple guys on Instagram have come up with a hashtag, #mynationalanthemchallenge, that exemplifies just that point. The hashtag was first featured on @incarlwetrust’s profile Tuesday morning and features him holding his hand over his heart, looking up into the sunrise, while he plays a song that truly has impacted his life in a big way:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BaEneiSj7Tt/

Yep, that’s right, Lil Troy’s “Wanna Be a Baller” has had much more impact on Carlito’s life than this song that praises the murder of slaves who tried to escape the wrath of 18th century slavemasters. Shocking.

Also included in the original hashtag were @kingslimm and @princeofberkeley, who saluted Mac Dre’s “Since 84” and Big Pun’s “It’s So Hard” respectively. The challenge began Tuesday morning in the Bay Area of California and has already been reproduced more than 150 times, with the most notable participant being Kehlani, saluting J. Valentine’s “Go Dumb.”

https://www.instagram.com/p/BaFRHFuAuFx/

Social media is the place where controversy meets truth and collides with jokes, and I’m so much more here for this challenge than any of the dumb, potentially lethal other challenges we’ve endured this year on Instagram. Shoutout to the three dudes who started this bit of ridiculousness.

You’ve inspired my patriotism, as well. **cues up “Gimme the Loot”**

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