The Spanish National Anthem: No me gustan gringos.
Recently a British record producer put together a group of famous-ish musicians that release the American national anthem in Spanish. I'm sure this British record producer is passionate about immigrant rights, and was not doing this as a craven publicity stunt. What, do I sound sarcastic? Regardless of his motivations, the Spanish National Anthem sparked a ridiculous controversy. Stupid-White-Guy-In-Chief George W. Bush even chimed in saying that the National Anthem should be in English only.
A few points:
1. "The Star-Spangled Banner" is a crappy song, and there are several better choices for a national anthem of the United States. "America The Beautiful," "This Land Is Your Land," and Whodini's "The Freaks Come Out At Night" would all make a better choice. Our current national anthem is notoriously hard to sing (with a tune based on an old British drinking song to boot).
2. The concept of a "national anthem" is pretty ridiculous to begin with. Do we really need a song? Like the flag, or the bald eagle, or any monument in Washington D.C., the anthem is a symbol, nothing more. The ideas behind the United States (and all other Western democracies) are what count, not a catchy little ditty or a multi-colored piece of cloth. This is the reason that anti-flag-burning crusaders are such a joke to me. Some hippie jerk burning a piece of cloth on the steps of the U.S. Capitol doesn't weaken my country or hurt me personally in any way whatsoever. Illegally tapping my phones sure does though.
3. So I dislike "The Star-Spangled Banner" and the concept of national anthems in general. It probably doesn't surprise you that I don't give a flying fuck if the national anthem is sung in Spanish. Or in Klingon. I cannot comprehend why translating the song into Spanish, in and of itself, is an insult to America. Songs are translated into other languages all the time. Because this one song was declared the national anthem by Congress doesn't mean it is suddenly holy scripture. People like Bush and their ilk are eerily like Muslims who claim the Koran can only be understood in Arabic.
We all know what this is really about. For all I know, the national anthem has already been translated into Spanish, French, Russian, or a hundred other languages. Translating lyrics ain't the issue. What people are pissed off about is the perceived Latinization of the United States. Anti-immigrant activists think this is another example of the steady creep of Latin culture into our supposedly white Anglo culture. Which is preposterous. Please allow me to be the millionth person to make the point that we are a nation of immigrants. EVERYONE in North America descended from immigrants (likewise everyone on Earth descended from immigrants unless you happen to be from eastern Kenya and your family has been there for three million years straight).
American culture is an amalgam of English, Scottish, French, German, Irish, Italian, Spanish, Native Indian, African, Roman, Greek, and Hebrew influences. The dominant Judeo-Christian belief system in the United States certainly wasn't started in America or Western Europe, it was imported, from the Middle East of all places! We already are a multi-ethnic society, and you can't turn the clock back on that. If a Spanish-speaking American (or potential American citizen) wants to sing the national anthem in Spanish and demonstrate his or her patriotism, how on Earth could that be a bad thing? If Latin Americans are good enough to cook our meals, watch our kids, and fight our wars, they can sing the anthem in any language they want.
A few points:
1. "The Star-Spangled Banner" is a crappy song, and there are several better choices for a national anthem of the United States. "America The Beautiful," "This Land Is Your Land," and Whodini's "The Freaks Come Out At Night" would all make a better choice. Our current national anthem is notoriously hard to sing (with a tune based on an old British drinking song to boot).
2. The concept of a "national anthem" is pretty ridiculous to begin with. Do we really need a song? Like the flag, or the bald eagle, or any monument in Washington D.C., the anthem is a symbol, nothing more. The ideas behind the United States (and all other Western democracies) are what count, not a catchy little ditty or a multi-colored piece of cloth. This is the reason that anti-flag-burning crusaders are such a joke to me. Some hippie jerk burning a piece of cloth on the steps of the U.S. Capitol doesn't weaken my country or hurt me personally in any way whatsoever. Illegally tapping my phones sure does though.
3. So I dislike "The Star-Spangled Banner" and the concept of national anthems in general. It probably doesn't surprise you that I don't give a flying fuck if the national anthem is sung in Spanish. Or in Klingon. I cannot comprehend why translating the song into Spanish, in and of itself, is an insult to America. Songs are translated into other languages all the time. Because this one song was declared the national anthem by Congress doesn't mean it is suddenly holy scripture. People like Bush and their ilk are eerily like Muslims who claim the Koran can only be understood in Arabic.
We all know what this is really about. For all I know, the national anthem has already been translated into Spanish, French, Russian, or a hundred other languages. Translating lyrics ain't the issue. What people are pissed off about is the perceived Latinization of the United States. Anti-immigrant activists think this is another example of the steady creep of Latin culture into our supposedly white Anglo culture. Which is preposterous. Please allow me to be the millionth person to make the point that we are a nation of immigrants. EVERYONE in North America descended from immigrants (likewise everyone on Earth descended from immigrants unless you happen to be from eastern Kenya and your family has been there for three million years straight).
American culture is an amalgam of English, Scottish, French, German, Irish, Italian, Spanish, Native Indian, African, Roman, Greek, and Hebrew influences. The dominant Judeo-Christian belief system in the United States certainly wasn't started in America or Western Europe, it was imported, from the Middle East of all places! We already are a multi-ethnic society, and you can't turn the clock back on that. If a Spanish-speaking American (or potential American citizen) wants to sing the national anthem in Spanish and demonstrate his or her patriotism, how on Earth could that be a bad thing? If Latin Americans are good enough to cook our meals, watch our kids, and fight our wars, they can sing the anthem in any language they want.
posted by David Bowden at 12:06 PM
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