A Spanish version of the National Anthem has outraged xenophobes all across America. Now the U.S. Senate has introduced legislation to make sure the Star Spangled Banner is sung only in English. “I think the national anthem ought to be sung in English,” Bush said Friday, “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”. Well here’s what I think.

America does not have an official language for a reason. People can speak whatever language they want to in America, because we are a land of immigrants where no culture can legally hold dominance over others. Are we outraged that Jimi Hendrix played a rock version of the National Anthem, or that it’s often translated into sign language? There is no right or wrong way to express your love for your country. That is something personal which should not be regulated by the government. This official reproach to a Spanish version is discriminatory towards anyone who is culturally different than the majority.

Canada’s National Anthem is sung in English and French. They embrace their cultural duality. Our own country was taken from non-English speaking Native Americans, and the rest of it was later gained from French, Russian, Spanish, and Hawaiian speaking nations. How can we justify an English-Only Anthem? The worst part of this debate is that the very people who advocate an English-Only policy don’t even know the National Anthem themselves. Nightline had a great segment where they attempted to get senators and congressmen to sing the National Anthem they’re so adamant about preserving.

Click here to see the Nightline video
(there’s a commercial before the clip starts)

And I know the title is corny, but it was either that or “Star Spangled Banter”.