kay said:Fulk said:So, sinker, what do you make of the following 5 words:
'GOD WHO MADE THEE MIGHTY'?
I obviously don't know what the writer had in mind when he or she (probalby the former) wrote them, but the inference is that the British Empire was somehow ordained by god.
If that's not arrogant bullshit, then what it it?
Arrogant bullshit, but Isn't it the sort of stuff many countries have in their national anthems? Eg
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation.
From the southern seas to the polar edge/Our forests and fields are spread out./You are the only one in the world! You are the only one -
the native land so kept by God!
Thank thy God, Whose power/Willed and wrought the land's salvation/In her darkest hour.
We knew thee of old,/O, divinely restored,/By the lights of thine eyes,/And the light of thy Sword.//To arms, citizens!/Form your battalions/Let?s march, let?s march/That their impure blood/Should water our fields.
Yep, why are select groups of words pulled out of the original context and held up as examples of how bad people were without considering the original context?
Those five words should be put back into the context of the song if you wish to understand what they are saying. The line is 'God, who made thee mighty, make thee mightier yet' and when you can see the whole line, you realise that the singer isn't making some statement about being the chosen of God but are exhorting God to grant greater power than that already given. The song is jingoistic, proudful and boastful but it isn't suggesting divine provenance for the people of Britain.