Someone save us from our national anthem

No one had told Katherine about the group gym session.

During the weeks of the games, as is customary, those who were able found themselves standing for a variety of national anthems. From the unapologetically sentimental ‘Stars and Stripes’ of the USA, to Israel’s sombre ‘Hatikvah’ and the cheerfully resilient Polish 'Dabrowski's Mazurka', we have experienced a wonderful variety of anthems. Of course, for most of the spectators, the greatest enthusiasm was retained for the British national anthem.

Like everyone else, I was proud to honour all of the athletes, and particularly our own. I was lucky enough to watch Mickey Bushell speed to victory in the T53 100m race on 3rd September. Watching him on the podium receiving his gold medal, surrounded by thousands of fans abandoning British reserve and going absolutely beserk, was one of the most touching moments of the games. Like everyone else, I cheered, stamped, clapped and rose for our national anthem. However, while everyone else sung along with gusto, I remained resolutely silent.

It is not that I have anything against the Queen. In fact, I think she does a rather good job, particularly for someone who was born when cigarettes were good for you, cars were a luxury, and 'Wall Street Crash' sounded like a bizarre new dance craze. She even has a sense of humour, as shown by her recent Bond-inspired helicopter stunt and her taste in hats. I am sure that she is, as the anthem proclaims, also gracious, noble, happy and glorious. But I refuse to accept that one woman, no matter how elegantly poised and crown-bedecked, should be raised above the people in a nation simply because she was born into a family of unimaginable privilege.

A national anthem should represent the nation. The queen is not the nation. Although she is part of it, the people are a much greater part, and since this is a democracy, size matters. While the monarchy is seen as a symbol of Britain by the rest of the world, to praise them, and only them, in a song which stands for us all is inherently wrong. By requesting that she be 'Long to reign over us', we reduce ourselves to mindless, powerless subjects. The religious aspect of the anthem is also problematic, given that Britain prides itself on being multicultural and welcoming to people of all or no beliefs. We all deserve an anthem that includes us.

Our national anthem is over four hundred years old, meaning it was introduced when most British people believed that the monarch had a divine right to the throne, while they had been born into a life of poverty because God ordained it. This type of thinking has no place in what is supposed to be a modern, democratic and free-thinking society.

Of course, there are many who would purse their lips and shake their heads at such a flagrant disregard for Tradition and The Way Things Are. ‘Political correctness gone made,’ they would say, the hand clutching their bone china Diamond Jubilee mug visibly trembling in outrage. ‘It's been around for four hundred years. We can't just change it.’ To which I respond that while tradition has a time and place, such as around a May Pole, it is also important for us to recognise the changing times and move with them, particularly when the tradition in question affects the entire nation.

Four hundred years ago, people believed that women were intellectually inferior to men, the Earth was the centre of the universe, and that a little blood-letting was an all-purpose cure. We now know that these assumptions are wrong, and we have altered our thinking and actions accordingly. Our current anthem is a relic of the past and has an important place in history; let’s leave it there when we take our newfound patriotism and move into a future of inclusion and equality.