The right wing is up in arms over a new version of the Star-Spangled Banner written in Spanish. Last week President Bush stated that "the national anthem ought to be sung in English." Yesterday Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN) introduced a resolution requiring the Star-Spangled banner to be sung only in English:
That flag and that song are a part of our history and our national identity. - That's why in 1931 Congress declared the Star-Spangled Banner our national anthem. That's why we should always sing it in our common language, English.
In his press release, Alexander said the Star-Spangled Banner has "never before…been rendered in another language."
But in 1919, the U.S. Bureau of Education commissioned a Spanish-language version of "The Star Spangled Banner." The State Department's website also features four separate versions of the anthem in Spanish.
It appears xenophobia isn't part of the American tradition.
The Hell it ain't.
So just when did people want other people to stop coming here? Right after they came, of course.
Sing the damn thing in any language you're comfortable with, as far as I'm concerned. It's damn hard in English, maybe it's easier in Burmese or something.
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