landgazing

I’m sure some of you have heard about that Spanish rendition
of “The Star Spangled Banner.” At first I was angry, because
national unity is important and things like this only serve to divide us and dilute our national character.

Conservatives are getting VERY angry, aren’t they? It’s a knee-jerk
reaction reproduced time and again: “Sing it in English or go home!” They have a point. How can we forge an identity if we
become the Tower of Babel?

However, there is a bright side that I see. Most of the Hispanics
in our communities speak Spanish mostly, shop at their own stores where they can send money back to Mexico and generally appear to be existing in their own sub-culture. Couldn’t this rousing song be a bridge?

Couldn’t it serve to cultivate a pro-American sentiment and a call for assimiliation rather than a group cast off, in essence,
from the rest of society?

Could it bring them more into mainstream, and in doing so, help ease tensions?