Saturday, April 29, 2006
Why Bother To Make People Earn Stuff?
So some British guy thought it would be a great idea to make it easier for people to ironically not embrace their new digs while trying to embrace their new digs. I’m referring to a new, Spanish version of the “Star Spangled Banner.”
You see, as I’m not Apache or Pawnee, my family tree is chuck full o’ immigrants. As recently as one generation to be exact. And you know what my family did- they bothered to adapt.
Now I’m not all anti-immigration, as a matter of fact I welcome new ideas to broaden our collective mindset, but if you leave a country then you leave a country. I don’t think one should forget about their heritage, but they should at least embrace their new culture as well. You should want to anyway, after all if America and its contents weren’t so appealing then why did you come here in the first place? Starting with the damn language. Really, isn’t it the least you could do? If I go to Europe I’ll do what I can to learn some conversational and otherwise important words and phrases and not expect them to just know English, in that same mindset, new Americans should do the same. There are immigrants that have lived here for 20 years that still don’t speak a word of English, so why (as in the case of this song) are we just making it easier for them not too? I suppose it’s nothing more than linguistical welfare.
British music producer Adam Kidron says that when he came up with the idea of a Spanish-language version of the U.S. national anthem, he saw it as an ode to the millions of immigrants seeking a better life.
But in the week since Kidron announced the song — which features artists such as Wyclef Jean, hip-hop star Pitbull and Puerto Rican singers Carlos Ponce and Olga Tanon — it has been the target of a fierce backlash.
Some Internet bloggers and others are infuriated by the thought of "The Star-Spangled Banner" sung in a language other than English.
"Would the French accept people singing the La Marseillaise in English as a sign of French patriotism? Of course not," said Mark Krikorian, head of the Washington-based Center for Immigration Studies, a think tank that supports tighter immigration controls.
You see, as I’m not Apache or Pawnee, my family tree is chuck full o’ immigrants. As recently as one generation to be exact. And you know what my family did- they bothered to adapt.
Now I’m not all anti-immigration, as a matter of fact I welcome new ideas to broaden our collective mindset, but if you leave a country then you leave a country. I don’t think one should forget about their heritage, but they should at least embrace their new culture as well. You should want to anyway, after all if America and its contents weren’t so appealing then why did you come here in the first place? Starting with the damn language. Really, isn’t it the least you could do? If I go to Europe I’ll do what I can to learn some conversational and otherwise important words and phrases and not expect them to just know English, in that same mindset, new Americans should do the same. There are immigrants that have lived here for 20 years that still don’t speak a word of English, so why (as in the case of this song) are we just making it easier for them not too? I suppose it’s nothing more than linguistical welfare.
