After a laborious morning, my father and I decided to head over to a restaurant close to home for lunch. We sat down and proceeded to order our meals. We talked for a while before I glanced at the TV hanging from the wall directly in front of me. The TV was showing CNN's coverage of some American's outrage over the recording of a Spanish version of the Star-Spangled Banner. At first, I laughed after reading viewers' emails, which staunchly condemned such blasphemy. In other words, I thought the coverage was simply showing typical American bigotry. However, as I began to pay more attention, I noticed even the anchors were speaking in a more serious tone.
I thought about it to myself. I thought, "why would anyone want to record the national anthem in Spanish?" I came to the conclusion that it wasn't a great idea and that it would probably promote the bigot's Reconquista claims.
I then asked my father what he thought about it. My dad is an immigrant from Mexico. He came here over 25 years ago, worked his ass off for years, and finally became a U.S. Citizen about 10 years ago. He is extremely proud of being American and he isn't afraid to show it. His answer, therefore, surprised me. He asked, "why are they so mad about? They took half of Mexico and we eventually got over it. You can't compare a national anthem to half a country." At first I was speechless, but it then it hit me. People who are "defending" the national anthem from losing its soul are hypocrites. I'm sure many of these people don't know the words to the song and yet they're attempting to defend it on so-called principles.
Americans, typically conservative hacks, call for unquestioned patriotism. The immigrants who support this Spanish-version "Star-Spangled Banner" are demonstrating their love for this country. Fuck, it feeds their fucking families. I'm not defending illegal immigration here, let's make that point clear. I'm simply making the case for bigots to settle the fuck down. It's a powerful song, I agree. But before you begin to bash a sizeable part of this country, re-examine the meaning behind our national anthem.
An update is likely since I'm a little fired-up right now!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
I agree Lefty. I don't see how this is a big deal at all. This allows people who do not speak the language very well to show their patriotism. Why is it offensive when people sing the praises of our great country in another language? More people can now understand our national anthem. It should be sung in EVERY LANGUAGE. I would really like to hear it sung in whatever bullshit language is spoken in Iran.
I am here because of search results for blogs with a related topic to mine.
Please,accept my congratulations for your excellent work!
I have a babysitting jobs site.
Come and check it out if you get time :-)
Best regards!
Post a Comment