For the National Anthem in Spanish!

[Evolve]

Rather than cutting and pasting something I received as a bulletin that compelled me to share it with my friends, I've decided to write my own bulletin as a response to it.

This particular bulletin, entitled "enuf is enuf!!" which I'm sure many of you have already received, is an impassioned patriotic plea forbid the singing of the national anthem in Spanish *gasp*! It goes on to explain that this sentiment is not held out of malice towards immigrants, however it does make clear that the author, as well as those reposting it, insist upon immigrants learning the English language. For them the desicration of our proud national anthem was, apparently, the last straw.

Well the author and those circulating this chain bulletin are correct. Enough is enough and I've had enough. For starters, I've had enough of inconsistency and hypocracy. This is including, but is not limited to, heart-felt pleas to protect the sanctity and dignity of our country and language when the argument comes from those who can't, or won't, correctly spell their titles, who insist upon using multiple exclamation points to express themselves, and who fill their posts with entire phrases written in all capital letters. The English language is clearly nothing less than sacred to these people.

I've also had enough of patriotism being used to mask other motives. Patriotism is at an all time high, in our lifetimes. This is not a bad thing. What is unfortunate is how patriotism frequently travels in the same cart as bandwagon nationalism. If spanish-speaking Americans want to sing our national anthem in spanish then more power to them. After all, their song is a tribute to the United States. A tribute, perhaps, made more meaningful by the fact that it is done in a language that they have a deeper understanding of and which comes naturally from their hearts. For goodness sake, if our great Constitution and country support the right for the citizens of the United States to burn the American flag and sell T-shirts calling for the destruction of this government and its officials, then why can't people sing praise to the U.S. in a foreign tongue? In this day and age when it is so rare to hear our nation being honored outside of the English speaking world shouldn't we consider this an honor and blessing?

So if honoring the USA or the English language isn't what spreads this kind of dribble then what is it?  Its plain and simple intolerance. Now, before anyone jumps the gun here its important to understand that intolerance isn't necessarily hatred, racism, prejudice, or any of those other big nasties. Though it can be, intolerance means simply a lack of consideration for another's point of view. This is starkly disturbing when that other point of view is harmless and moreso if it is well intentioned. I know that in today's world it isn't popular to be sensitive to the concerns of other and political correctness is little more than a quaint and illogical tradition. All that stuff was a liberal 90's thing, right? They seemed important before we realized how dangerous the world we live in is and now they need to be put away with all the other childish nonsense from that way of thinking. Well that's just bullsh*t!

People should care about what other people thinking and stop running around like a bunch of vigilantes who's only concern is for their own thoughts and whims. Other people have thoughts and feelings too and, you know what, some of them are more important thans yours. There is room in the this country for two languages, heck there's room for 336. That's the number of languages spoken in America today. Out of all those languages English is spoken by 82% of Americans. So go ahead and divide the remaining 18% between the 335 non-English languages and tell me if you still feel threatened. Oh, by the way, that 82% is on the rise. This is largely due to the fact that almost 3/4 of Mexican-Americans and Asian-Americans speak English and they're kids are learning it from them and from our schools.

A multilingual America has countless benefits. First of all, studies have, without exception, shown that people who speak more than one language are smarter, more well rounded, and have a higher earning potential. Our fellow citizens that speak non-English languages not only function better personally, but bring countless resources to the benefit of our country and communities. Regions with a greater density of non-English speakers attract more businesses in terms of both numbers and diversity. Beyond that, any travel guide will tell you that they're also rated as more entertaining due to the vast amounts of cultural exhibitions and events. Multilingual Americans benefit this country by making international trade and negotiations more feasible and by making the US a prime target for international business that don't specifically appeal to the typical American market. They also benefit America by showing the world that we aren't quite so self-centered as we are believed to be. For over a century, we have expected other nations to appease us and learn our language in their dealings with us and our citizens, perhaps its time to be a good neighbor. Finally, lets face it, English is not the native language of this hemisphere. It's use is foreign and, in fact, it isn't the most widespread on this half of the globe. Its easy to assume that everyone speaks English when you live in America, but there's more to the Americas than the US and Canada. Why on Earth should we push against the prevalent language continentally south of us? There is a lot of south and a lot of people we should be trying to become closer to.

We have much bigger problems than Americans who don't speak English at the grocer or who want to politically participate in another language. Maybe the people worried about this sort of thing should make sure that they know all the words to the national anthem because over 1/3 of Americans don't know its name (Star-Spangled Banner), over 2/3 don't know its author (Francis Scott Key, and almost 2/3 can't sing it from memory. So everyone out there who is offended by the singing of the national anthem in Spanish (and that especially applies to the vast majority of you who fall into one or more of the above mentioned percentages) grow up and focus on your own short comings. We are one country and most of us are proud of it. How about we start acting like it and supporting anyone who is appreciates our nation's greatness. How about we start looking inside before pointing fingers. How about we appreciate what others add to our lives instead of lamenting how they complicate and challenge it. Finally, how about we stand by our fellow Americans, all of them, and focus our efforts towards our true enemies; those who don't seek to praise us with exotic tongues, but who seek to destroy us from foreign soils.

[comeoutandplay]

AS MUCH AS THE WORLD MAY HATE THE AMERICAN BULLY, THEY STILL GET IMMENSE GRATIFICATION FROM ASSOCIATING WITH THE AMERICAN CULTURE, AMERICANS HAVE THE MONEY, THE BOMBS, THE S E X APPEAL. IT'S LIKE THE "VIP" GUY IN THE CLUB, YOU DON'T REALLY WANT TO BE HIM, BECAUSE YOU KNOW HE'S A SOULLESS A S S H O L E, BUT YOU WOULDN'T MIND RIDING AROUND IN HIS LIMO EVERY ONCE IN A WHILE, REAPING THE BENEFITS OF HIS FRIENDSHIP. THIS IS HUMAN NATURE.

[robmelone]

Si se puede!
http://www.cafepress.com/lawthug

[giraffe205]

I couldn't agree w/ you more. While I understand the opposing argument that immigrants need to learn to speak English, the conclusion that they then should stop speaking their native language is incorrect. The two languages can co-exist. If ppl want to sing praises to our country in a language where they better understand and feel close to the words of the song, I say go for it!!

[Dxion]

I don't care one bit. My national anthem starts with "I wish I was in the land of cotton..."

I don't think the Mexicans will be singing that one any time soon.

[f r]

Last week, I attended an immigration-overpopulation conference in Washington, DC, filled to capacity by many of America's finest minds and leaders. Writers, speakers, CEO's, representatives from Congress such as Tom Tancredo as well as former governors graced the podium. Bonnie Eggle, mother of the national parks ranger Chris Eggle, slain by Mexican drug runners last year on our unguarded southern border--gave a compelling speech that left not one dry eye in the place. Peter Gadiel, father of Jamie Gadiel, spoke powerfully on how the World Trade Center took his son and how nothing has been done since -- to stop the flow of illegal immigration into the United States. Even with the façade of Tom Ridge's Homeland Security, 800,000 illegal aliens continue walking, crawling or tunneling across the Mexican border annually. Their accelerating numbers are undermining America’s ability to function.

During the conference, speaker after speaker astounded the audience with facts on how fast the present administration and congress continue dismantling the American Dream for average citizens. Mr. Rob Sanchez of Arizona, showed how H1 B and L 1 visas have ripped one million high tech jobs out of American worker's hands. Another speaker told a packed audience how 'offshoring' and 'outsourcing', fully supported by the president and congress have cost over three million American jobs in the past six years. His prediction was even more depressing: "In excess of three million more jobs will be 'outsourced' within four years. Those American jobs are headed to Mexico, India, China, Pakistan and Brazil.'

Later, a brilliant college professor named Victor Hansen Davis talked about his latest book, 'MEXIFORNIA,' explaining how immigration, both legal and illegal, was destroying the entire State of California. He said it would march across the country until it destroyed all vestiges of the American Dream. Moments later, former Colorado Governor Richard D. Lamm, stood up and gave a stunning speech on how to destroy America. This writer sat in the audience spellbound by the eight methods for destruction of the United States.

He said, "If you believe that America is too smug, to self-satisfied, too rich, then let's destroy America. It is not that hard to do. No nation in history has survived the ravages of time. Arnold Toynbee observed that all great civilizations rise and fall, and that, z'An autopsy of history would show that all great nations commit suicide.' Here is how they do it," Lamm said. "Turn America into a bilingual or multi lingual and bicultural country. History shows that no nation can survive the tension, conflict and antagonism of two or more competing languages and cultures. It is a blessing for an individual to be bilingual; however, it is a curse for a society to be bilingual. The historical scholar Seymour Lipset put it this way, "The histories of bilingual and bicultural societies that do not assimilate are histories of turmoil, tension and tragedy. Canada, Belgium, Malaysia, Lebanon — all face crises of national existence in which minorities press for autonomy, if not independence. Pakistan and Cyprus have divided. Nigeria suppressed an ethnic rebellion. France faces difficulties with Basques, Bretons and Corsicans."

Lamm went on, "Invent 'multiculturalism' and encourage immigrants to maintain their own culture. I would make it an article of belief that all cultures are equal. That there are no cultural differences. I would make it an article of faith that the Black and Hispanic dropout rates are due to prejudice and discrimination by the majority. Every other explanation is out of bounds." "We could make the United States an 'Hispanic Quebec' without much effort. The key is to celebrate diversity rather than unity. As Benjamin Schwarz said in the ATLANTIC MONTHLY recently: "The apparent success of our own multi-ethnic and multi-cultural experiment might have been achieved not by tolerance but by hegemony. Without the dominance that once dictated ethnocentrically and what it meant to be an America, we are left with only tolerance and pluralism to hold us together."

Lamm said, "I would encourage all immigrants to keep their own language and culture. I would replace the melting pot metaphor with the salad bowl metaphor. It is important to ensure that we have various cultural sub-groups living in America reinforcing their differences rather than as Americans, emphasizing their similarities." "Fourth, I would make our fastest growing demographic group the least educated. I would add a second underclass, unassimilated, undereducated and antagonistic to our population. I would have this second underclass have a 50% dropout rate from high school." "My fifth point for destroying America would be to get big foundations and business to give these efforts lots of money. I would invest in ethnic identity, and I would establish the cult of 'Victimology.' I would get all minorities to think their lack of success was the fault of the majority. I would start a grievance industry blaming all minority failure on the majority population."

"My sixth plan for America's downfall would include dual citizenship and promote divided loyalties. I would celebrate diversity over unity. I would stress differences rather than similarities. Diverse people worldwide are mostly engaged in hating each other—that is, when they are not killing each other. A diverse, peaceful or stable society is against most historical precedent. People undervalue the unity it takes to keep a nation together. Look at the ancient Greeks: "The Greeks believed that they belonged to the same race; they possessed a common language and literature; and they worshipped the same gods. All Greece took part in the Olympic games. A common enemy Persia threatened their liberty. Yet, all these bonds were not strong enough to overcome two factor ... local patriotism and geographical conditions that nurtured political divisions. Greece fell. In that historical reality, if we put the emphasis on the 'pluribus' instead of the ‘unum, we can balkanize America as surely as Kosovo."

"Next to last, I would place all subjects off limits—make it taboo to talk about anything against the cult of 'diversity.' I would find a word similar to 'heretic' in the 16th century—that stopped discussion and paralyzed thinking. Words like 'racist' or 'xenophobe' halt discussion and debate." "Having made America a bilingual --bicultural country, having established multiculturalism, having the large foundations fund the doctrine of 'Victimology,' I would next make it impossible to enforce our immigration laws. I would develop a mantra: "That because immigration has been good for America, it must ALWAYS be good. I would make every individual immigrant sympatric and ignore the cumulative impact of millions of them." In the last minute of his speech, Governor Lamm wiped his brow. The profound silence allowed me to hear my heart beating. Finally, he said, "Lastly, I would censor Victor Hanson Davis's book 'MEXIFORNIA.' His book is dangerous. It exposes the plan to destroy America. If you feel America deserves to be destroyed, don’t read that book."

There was no applause. A chilling fear quietly rose like an ominous cloud above every attendee at the conference. Every American in that room knew that everything Lamm enumerated was proceeding methodically, quietly, darkly, yet pervasively across the United States today. Every discussion is being suppressed. Over 100 languages are ripping the foundation of our educational system and national cohesiveness. Barbaric cultures that practice female genital mutilation are growing as we celebrate 'diversity.' American jobs are vanishing into the Third World as greedy corporations create a Third World in America—take note of California and other states—to date, 10 million illegal aliens and growing, fast.

It reminded me of George Orwell's book, '1984.' In that story, three slogans are engraved in the Ministry of Truth building: "War is peace," "Freedom is slavery," and "Ignorance is strength." I sat there as one of the most patriotic Americans I know, Governor Lamm, walked back to his seat. It dawned on everyone at the conference that our nation and the future of this great democracy, is deeply in trouble and worsening fast. If we don't get this immigration monster stopped within three years, it will rage like a California wildfire and destroy everything in its path, especially the American Dream.

[noeresuficientementefeliz]

Headlice is a perennial scourage in elementary schools across America. When we discovered that our daughter was exposed to the constant danger of being infested with headlice in grade one, we simply had to act. The lice problem appears to be permanent in American schols. Moreover, nobody seems to care much about it. Headlice are accepted as if they were something natural for American school children to have. We as foreigners were shocked. In our country we have always considered headlice as one of the worst parasites with which a human being can be infested. Our daughter was always scared of lice infestation at her school, and it interfered with her ability to learn. This disgusting situation, which American parents are taking in stride, was a big emotional shock for our daughter at her young age -- and as parents, we did not feel that the solution was to tell her it was not important.

When I told an old Russian-Jewish lady here about lice in American schools and explained to her that Americans consider lice as almost a natural thing for kids to have, she was even more shocked than I was. She told me a story from her youth during World War II. During the blockade of Leningrad, the German army sorrounded the whole city and held it in siege without any connection to the outside world for over two years. She was in Leningrad during that blockade and told me thet had no food, no water, no firewood to heat houses, nothing. Suddenly they found lice on one of the children's heads. It was an emergency for the family. They had to get rid of lice somehow, but how, without washing their hair? How could they wash their hair if there was no water available or fire to heat it? The only way to get some water was to go to the Neva River. There was a narrow path leading to the river called the Path of Death. People who tried to use it could be very quickly killed by German snipers. But despite that, the woman decided to go and bring water so they could wash their hair and get rid of lice. She was a young girl at the time, and she understood that she was taking an enermous risk by venturing out onto the Path of Death. Luckily, she survived it, brought the water and was able to rid her family of the bloodsucking insects. I mention this story to indicate that this is how civilized people reacted to lice problem.

I wrote numerous letters complaining about the headlice to the School District, but nothing happened. In her responses, the District's Superintendent suggested home schooling instead of taking some appropriate measures to prevent the spread of headlice in the schools. To me, it sounded ridiculous. So our daughter now has only two "choices" in this society of so-called "freedom of choices": either to attend American school and be infested with lice, or not to attend school at all. We appear to have made the preferrable choice.

[980eQ]

As the son and grandson of Cubans who came over to the United States in the 1959-61 rush. I find this upsetting and unnerving. My relatives came over, LEARNED ENGLISH, had to re-earn their diplomas, recertify, etc. and scratch a living for a very long time, and they did so, because they wanted to be like the rest of the americans that surrounded them. My grandfather's happiest day was becoming a citizen. While it may seem trivial, those of us that were brought up on those values, to become PART of the US culture rather than to be a subculture, find it disturbing that new arrivals, and older shiftless ones refuse to take part in what is really the immigrant's dream of america. The national anthem should be sung in this country's operating language, English.

[frisky]

Last week, I attended an immigration-overpopulation conference in Washington, DC, filled to capacity by many of America's finest minds and leaders. Writers, speakers, CEO's, representatives from Congress such as Tom Tancredo as well as former governors graced the podium. Bonnie Eggle, mother of the national parks ranger Chris Eggle, slain by Mexican drug runners last year on our unguarded southern border--gave a compelling speech that left not one dry eye in the place. Peter Gadiel, father of Jamie Gadiel, spoke powerfully on how the World Trade Center took his son and how nothing has been done since -- to stop the flow of illegal immigration into the United States. Even with the façade of Tom Ridge's Homeland Security, 800,000 illegal aliens continue walking, crawling or tunneling across the Mexican border annually. Their accelerating numbers are undermining America’s ability to function.

There is an enormous number of Americans who have been harmed by the criminals who pass through the nation's open borders. For that reason, this post can only provide a symbolic tribute to the many unnamed victims who have been killed, raped, robbed, crippled and otherwise personally violated.

- The murder of Kris Eggle, a park ranger in the Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument in southern Arizona on August 9, 2002, was little noted by the media, although the press has paid considerable attention to the deaths of illegal aliens on the border. By contrast, Ranger Eggle was shot down by Mexican drug dealers who were using Organ Pipe as a route for their smuggling. Only 28 when he was murdered, Eggle was a valedictorian and an Eagle Scout who joined the National Park Service because he loved the outdoors. (Organ Pipe is considered to be the most dangerous of the national park system: 200,000 illegal aliens and 700,000 pounds of drugs were intercepted at the park in 2001.) The Eggle family is determined that his death will not be forgotten by working for real border control, including a Washington press conference with Tom Tancredo in the fall of 2002. The Eggles have a family website, www.kriseggle.org, to inform interested parties about what they are doing.

- In a particularly tragic example of government inattention to illegal aliens who have run amock, one of the snipers who terrorized the Washington DC area for 3 weeks in October 2002 was a foreign national who had been apprehended the previous year. As a stowaway, he was required by law to be immediately deported back to his home country. Instead, the INS overroad the Border Patrol's designation and released John Lee Malvo upon the unsuspecting American public. Had immigration law been followed by the INS, there would have been no 2-man hit team and it is likely that there would have been no devastating series of murders. As columnist Michelle Malkin has observed, the INS releases dangerous alien criminals all the time.

- David Nadel was a familiar community activist in Berkeley, California, and owned the popular Ashkenaz dance club that featured eclectic music, such as zydeco, cajun, and the blues. In 1996, he was murdered in the club by an apparent Mexican illegal alien, Juan Rivera Perez, whom Nadel had earlier ejected for harassing other patrons. Perez was in Ashkenaz as part of an ESL program graduation party. Police believe Perez escaped to Mexico, which is famously unhelpful in extraditing violent criminals. Despite the outcry from law enforcement, victims and the press, the US government does not insist on normal compliance in law enforcement from Mexican authorities.

- In another case of justice denied, the murderer of Phoenix high school student Tanee Natividad merely crossed the border into Mexico to escape law enforcement. A local television station was able to track down the murderer in a bar just a few miles across the border without much effort. Max LaMadrid has no reason to hide because the Mexican government actually helps violent criminals escape American justice. According to Arizona Attorney General Janet Napolitano, action by the Mexican supreme court making it more difficult to extradite criminals has "created an incentive for people to flee into Mexico as a safe harbor." At one time, Mexico would not extradite criminals who might be subject to the death penalty; the Mexican court recently extended this "protection" to any Mexican who might receive a life sentence, thereby giving a free pass to rapists, kidnappers and child molesters. In fact, the investigating reporter found 100 cases of violent criminals from the Phoenix area escaping into Mexico in just the last few years. Meanwhile, the grieving family of 16-year-old Tanee gets no justice -- like thousands of others in the southwest.

[frisky]

- Darlene Squires, the distraught mother of a disabled teenager, 1 of 2 girls who were raped on October 24, 2002, by 3 members of a Salvadoran street gang located in Somerville, Massachusetts. Aged 17 and 14, both victims are deaf and one has cerebral pal