One Nation Debajo de Dios
De nuevo, una lucha ha entrado en erupción sobre la naturaleza multilingüe de nuestra gran nación. (In the interest of clarity, the rest of today's post will be presented in English.) For our spanish speaking readers, "Buenos dias." Apparently we are once again fired up over the question of a multi-lingual America.
That's right ladies and gentlemen. Never mind the millions of undocumented immigrants living within our borders or the thousands who cross them every day. Never mind the question of National Security or the welfare of honest people trying to find a better life. What we need to discuss right now is whether or not it's ok to sing the National Anthem in Spanish.
A British music producer, Adam Kidron, is releasing "Nuestro Himno," or "Our Anthem," in what he says is a tribute to America's immigrants. The song features artists such as Wyclef Jean, hip-hop star Pitbull and Puerto Rican singers Carlos Ponce and Olga Tanon. The regular version of the song is out this Friday and is basically "The Star Spangled Banner" in Spanish. A remix however is due out in June and includes lines spoken in English that bash American immigration policy. Funny, that sounds like the Democratic Party's way of honoring people, you know, trashing other people.
The President was asked about the song today and had this to say: (care of Yahoo! News)
"I think the national anthem ought to be sung in English, and I think people who want to be a citizen of this country ought to learn English and they ought to learn to sing the national anthem in English."
At first he had suggested they learn to speak American, but new White House spokesman, Tony Snow, quickly reminded the President that American isn't a language. I generally love W, and I don't mean to make fun, but how many times can you say English in one sentence?
The very idea that this is a major headline of a story is ludicrous. As Stereotype has already discussed, we might be in the first phases of a complete overhaul of a major government organization, FEMA. Gas prices are at incredibly high levels, Osama Bin Laden is still evading capture, Iran is about this close to starting World War III, and I seem to remember that we are fighting a war in the Middle East. Iraq, I believe it was. I could not care less whether some record exec and a couple of mid-level rappers want to release a version of "The Star Spangled Banner" in Spanish. I don't care if they release one in Pig Latin. As much as I harp on Democrats penchant for screaming when they're angry instead of trying to fix problems, conservatives are to blame on this one. There's a reason the news agencies run with this story. People are going to get up in arms over this. Joe and Jane Public are going to be pissed. I can hear them talking over dinner now.
"Jane, did you read about this nonsense these imigrants are doing now? Singing the national anthem in Spanish. It's shameful. When I was in school we sang in English. Now what was wrong with that?"
"Nothing dear."
"You're darn right, nothing. I'm gonna give our congressman a call."
So, please from one humble blogger to his beloved American brothers and sisters. Guardemos nuestros ojos en la bola. Excuse me. I meant, Let's keep our eyes on the ball. We've got a lot bigger worries than what language the guy next to you at the ballpark is singing in.
That's right ladies and gentlemen. Never mind the millions of undocumented immigrants living within our borders or the thousands who cross them every day. Never mind the question of National Security or the welfare of honest people trying to find a better life. What we need to discuss right now is whether or not it's ok to sing the National Anthem in Spanish.
A British music producer, Adam Kidron, is releasing "Nuestro Himno," or "Our Anthem," in what he says is a tribute to America's immigrants. The song features artists such as Wyclef Jean, hip-hop star Pitbull and Puerto Rican singers Carlos Ponce and Olga Tanon. The regular version of the song is out this Friday and is basically "The Star Spangled Banner" in Spanish. A remix however is due out in June and includes lines spoken in English that bash American immigration policy. Funny, that sounds like the Democratic Party's way of honoring people, you know, trashing other people.
The President was asked about the song today and had this to say: (care of Yahoo! News)
"I think the national anthem ought to be sung in English, and I think people who want to be a citizen of this country ought to learn English and they ought to learn to sing the national anthem in English."
At first he had suggested they learn to speak American, but new White House spokesman, Tony Snow, quickly reminded the President that American isn't a language. I generally love W, and I don't mean to make fun, but how many times can you say English in one sentence?
The very idea that this is a major headline of a story is ludicrous. As Stereotype has already discussed, we might be in the first phases of a complete overhaul of a major government organization, FEMA. Gas prices are at incredibly high levels, Osama Bin Laden is still evading capture, Iran is about this close to starting World War III, and I seem to remember that we are fighting a war in the Middle East. Iraq, I believe it was. I could not care less whether some record exec and a couple of mid-level rappers want to release a version of "The Star Spangled Banner" in Spanish. I don't care if they release one in Pig Latin. As much as I harp on Democrats penchant for screaming when they're angry instead of trying to fix problems, conservatives are to blame on this one. There's a reason the news agencies run with this story. People are going to get up in arms over this. Joe and Jane Public are going to be pissed. I can hear them talking over dinner now.
"Jane, did you read about this nonsense these imigrants are doing now? Singing the national anthem in Spanish. It's shameful. When I was in school we sang in English. Now what was wrong with that?"
"Nothing dear."
"You're darn right, nothing. I'm gonna give our congressman a call."
So, please from one humble blogger to his beloved American brothers and sisters. Guardemos nuestros ojos en la bola. Excuse me. I meant, Let's keep our eyes on the ball. We've got a lot bigger worries than what language the guy next to you at the ballpark is singing in.
posted by Daddy Rogue at 3:28 PM
1 Comments:
when i read about this i wondered to myself how many of these guys complaining about a PUBLIC DOMAIN song being translated into spanish by a BRITISH guy even know all the words to the anthem. i mean, c'mon, this is the american freemarket at it's finest: a rich, executive making money off the emotions of a marginalized demographic, who feel that they are being oppressed...that's the way we do business in america!! the reason i think we should be pissed is the brits beat us to the punch...we should have been all over a month ago.
american record execs are slacking...c'mon fellas, there is an untapped resource sitting right in front of you. hell, it's probably cleaning your house and mowing your lawn. i'll let you guys slide this one time...but, so help me if you fail to capitalize on the public's emotions the next time the chance arises. keep your head up.
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