WASHINGTON - President Bush said Friday the national anthem should be sung in English — not Spanish — in a blunt rejection of a new Spanish-language version. He also expressed opposition to a national work stoppage called for Monday to dramatize the importance of immigrants to the U.S. economy.
"I'm not a supporter of boycotts," Bush said, while restating his support for a comprehensive overhaul of immigration laws.
Bush made his comments at a Rose Garden news conference as a Spanish-language version of "The Star Spangled Banner," hit the airways featuring artists such as Wyclef Jean, hip-hop star Pitbull and Puerto Rican singers Carlos Ponce and Olga Tanon.
Called "Nuestro Himno" — "Our Anthem" — the Spanish version rewrites some of the English version. For instance, the second stanza says, "My people keep fighting. It's time to break the chains."
"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," Bush said.
"I understand how difficult this issue is for some people here in Washington and around the country," Bush said. His approach calls for a temporary guest worker program, tougher enforcement of laws against hiring illegal immigrants and stricter border controls.
Acknowledging that it has become a highly charged topic, Bush said, "One of the things that's very important is when we debate this issue that we not lose our national soul."
I can't think of anything to say about this issue--I'm speechless! Why is President Bush even talking about singing The Star Spangled Banner in English, or Spanish, or any language? Why should President Bush even care what language our national anthem should be sung in? I'd certainly be curious as to how the national anthem would be sung in different languages--I'd gather that half the American population wouldn't even know the words to the anthem to sing it in English.
"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," Bush said.
So the Mexican immigrants had better throw away their Spanish language version of The Star Spangled Banner! And they'd better learn to sing it right in English! Because that is what the President has said--he's The Decider! And we've got ourselves a new campaign issue for the Republican Party for this year's midterm elections. Never mind about the failed domestic and foreign policy issues of this administration. The most important issue of this year's election will be to sing The Star Spangled Banner in English. And while we're at it, let's make sure that the Republicans continue to allow corporations to hire illegal immigrants at substandard wages, with no legal rights or benefits.
The sad thing is that the Republicans still don't get it. It is not about singing The Star Spangled Banner in English, or Spanish, or Chinese, or any language. At any sporting event that you can attend, they will always play the national anthem, and singers will always sing the anthem in English. That is never going to be taken away, no matter how much the Republicans scream about this as an election issue. What the Republicans don't like is that the Mexican immigrants have taken their "cherished, traditional" national anthem and adapted it to reflect their own struggles. Look at this second stanza, "My people keep fighting. It's time to break the chains." These immigrants come to the U.S. for a better way of life, for hope and freedom. And yet, those immigrants that come into the U.S. through illegal means are forced into a form of economic slavery by big corporate interests in agriculture, construction, food processing, retail, and other labor-intensive industries that covet extreme profits for their top executives, while paying less-than-minimum wages and providing no legal rights for these immigrants. And how many of these top executives, who turn a blind eye while their corporations are hiring illegals, provide large sums of political campaign contributions to the Republican Party and Republican legislators? To these immigrants, this anthem becomes a rallying cry to fight against the injustices they experience against their corporate masters, and against the Republican Party that panders to the corporate interests. This anthem becomes a rallying cry against a social and economic class warfare that the Republican Party and their own corporate masters have been waging against the illegal immigrants, and perhaps even against the lower and middle classes of Americans.
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