English Critique

Martin Hendrikx 1 Martin Hendrikx College English 3 – EN231D07 Deryck Satchwell November 29, 2007 Critique

A Critique of Naomi Burn’s “We need a new national anthem – for all Belizeans” Naomi Burn, a woman from Biscayne Village, wrote an article that was published in the August 24, 2006 edition of the “Amandala.” The article covered a recent issue that many people, including myself find controversial. The title of her article is “We need a new national anthem – for all Belizeans.” Ms. Burn is an immigrant and has become a Belizean citizen, and she realizes that we do need a new or at least a revised national anthem. Many people however will argue and claim that the anthem has been the way it is since it was written, over 25 years ago. Ms. Naomi says that the national anthem of a country should be a “national anthem” and it should not exclude any people who live in the country whether they are immigrants, of different races, or of different sexes even. Our national anthem must make everyone who sings it proud. If all Belizeans are not actually “Sons of the Baymen” or if not all of the people of Belize are descended from the slaves, then why should they be proud to sing the national anthem of Belize, which claims we are all “Sons of the Baymen” and that we have all been freed from “slavery’s oppression’s rod.” These two simple statements either could be altered or removed which would help to eliminate the problem of different races of people being excluded.

Martin Hendrikx 2 As for the exclusion of women, if one stops to think about it, our national anthem is actually quite sexist since it does not mention Belizean women at all. As Ms. Burn suggested to her daughters, the national anthem could be altered to include women very easily. One way in which this could be done, is by the replacement of a single word in the part where the anthem says, “Our manhood we pledge to thy liberty.” The word manhood could easily be replaced by “honour” so that the anthem would read, “our honor we pledge to thy liberty.” This would include women and men alike since “for most men, their ‘honour,’ anyway, is essentially equivalent to their ‘manhood,’ but it does not exclude” women at all. I agree one hundred percent with Ms. Burn’s argument since the anthem is not inclusive of all Belizeans. Her information is not all factual since it is very opinion based article, but the point is being delivered in such a way that it is very logical and it is also very persuasive. She does however include several fallacies in her work, which were probably unintentional, but on a whole, her work is very convincing. I believe her point was well made and that many Belizeans as well as non-Belizeans who read this article will realize that Belize has a true need for a new or a revised national anthem. The new national anthem would of course need to include Belizeans of all races, genders, ethnicities, and colors. We must strive for change in this ever-changing world for if we do not, we shall surely never develop as a country. The simple change in a few of the phrases of our national anthem would change the outlooks of many Belizeans. 553 Words