Douglas Alexander: “across the country today, thousands of immigrants, legal and illegal, are marching in a nationwide rally. Many are…”

“across the country today, thousands of immigrants, legal and illegal, are marching in a nationwide rally. Many are saying that they, too, want to become Americans. But I am afraid the message is quite literally getting lost in translation. As part of these demonstrations, a new version of our national anthem, ``The Star-Spangled Banner,'' has been produced--in Spanish. According to an article in the Washington Post on last Friday, at least 389 different versions of our anthem have been produced over the years in many musical styles, including rock and roll and country, but the Post also noted that never before has it been rendered in another language. This may be a first, but it is a big first step in the wrong direction. It is a mistake precisely because our Nation is a nation of immigrants. Almost all of us are descended from immigrants from Britain or Germany or Italy or France or China or Mexico or some other country around the world. Our forefathers who came from these many different countries spoke many different languages, but in coming here they agreed to speak one common language, one language to unify us as a nation, one language so we can all speak with one another. And that language is English. In fact, in order for a legal immigrant to become a citizen of the United States, one requirement is that he or she demonstrate at least an eighth grade level understanding of the English language.…”