Being labeled; deplorable, fascist, Nazi, Hitler, garbage and all the other §hit reminds me of Yankee Doodle Dandy, when other tyrants tried to denigrate us.
Sit back kids and enjoy this repeat of history!
The story of “Yankee Doodle” is a fascinating example of how something meant to mock can be reinterpreted as a point of pride. The song originated during the French and Indian War (1754-1763), well before the American Revolution. British soldiers, wanting to poke fun at the rough, “unsophisticated” colonial militias fighting alongside them, created a tune called “Yankee Doodle” to mock American customs, clothing, and mannerisms.
The term “doodle” was slang for a fool or simpleton, and “Yankee” was a British term for Americans, particularly those from New England. The lyrics included lines like “stuck a feather in his hat and called it macaroni,” referring to a trend among British aristocrats where “macaroni” was a term for anything extremely fashionable. Essentially, they were saying that these colonial “Yankees” were so unsophisticated they thought that simply sticking a feather in their cap made them fashionable.
However, as tensions between the British and American colonies rose, American troops adopted the song and flipped its meaning. During the Revolutionary War, American soldiers would sing “Yankee Doodle” as a rallying cry, turning it into a symbol of defiance and pride. It became a song of American patriotism, celebrating the distinctiveness and resilience of the colonies rather than mocking it.
By the end of the war, the Americans had so fully embraced the song that it was often sung at victory celebrations, even to the chagrin of the British. What started as a tune of mockery had transformed into an anthem of American identity, now remembered as “Yankee Doodle Dandy” — a quintessentially American song of resilience and independence.
Now we’re all using memes and it’s glorious!