During the 19th century, the anthems changed almost every time there was a new government, and these transformations spilled into the 20th century. In Central America, which is my focus here, the road to selecting the current national anthems was tortuous. This change was not merely cosmetic, but reflected a change in policy and, above all, a renewed social inclusiveness. In June 2016, the Canadian parliament decided to make a significant change to “O, Canada.” The line “True patriotic love in all thy sons command” was replaced by “True patriotic love in all of us command” to include people of all genders. Many countries have attempted to replace or make changes to their national anthems, and some have succeeded. And so, “The Soldier’s Song” still stands as the Irish national anthem. Yeats, not a single entry was deserving of such amount. The award was 50 guineas (approximately $4,000 today), but according to the Nobel prize-winning poet W.B. As in many other instances, such was the conclusion of the panel of judges tasked with selecting a new anthem for Ireland in the early 20th century. National anthems are intriguing because they have an enormous impact on our idea of nationalism, even though they’re anachronistic, full of clichés, and of little or no poetic merit. However, these observations also apply - with some distinctions - to most national anthems around the world. I am referring to national anthems, particularly to the national anthems of Central America. My concern here is with the way in which nationhood is channeled through a discourse that is bound to be long-lived, despite being based on an anachronistic perception of what a nation should be.
But who chooses? The choice always comes from above, from those with the power to imagine a future that will affect the lives of the majority. Choosing what to remember and what to forget about a nation’s past is based on a selective perception of what that nation was in the past, what it is in the present, and what we want it to be in a future we are busy shaping. This idea still stands, even though the French philosopher Ernest Renan first expressed it in 1882. Nations are made up of things we choose to remember and things we choose to forget.
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