Leading By Example

All right, so the latest hullabaloo on imigration reform has to do with whether or not the National Anthem should only be allowed to be sung in English or not. Apparently, a Spanish language version of the national anthem was recently released by a British (!) music producer who said he wanted to honor America's immigrants.

To be honest, I don't really care if the anthem is being sung in English, Spanish, or Swahili, although I do think it's important that the translation be as true to the original version as possible, poetic license aside. I mean, the National Anthem is the national Anthem because of what the words say, not because of the tune (which is actually based on an old English drinking song called "To Anacreon in Heaven" in case you didn't know), so care should definitely be taken when doing the translation. But as long as people are declaring their allegience to the good old U.S. of A., I don't think it really matters in what language they do so. It's the thought that counts, you know?

What cracks me up about all this, though, is when President Bush comes out and says that the National Anthem should only be sung in English because, "People who want to be a citizen of this country ought to learn English..." Oh really? Funny, I've always wondered whether President Bush himself really had a grasp on the basics of the language. Or maybe I've just been misunderestimating him all this time....