People get upset over the smallest, most inconsequential things in America. That is what happened last month when singer Nezza performed the US national anthem in Spanish at the Dodger Stadium. It was the same words but in a different language. Yes, the majority of people in the US speak English and we are supposed to be a melting pot of cultures. So, people should stop being butthurt over every single little thing and we will be all much happier.

 

Nezza explained later that her decision to perform it in Spanish was a response to the current atmosphere in Los Angeles where recent ICE raids against immigrants and international students that have sparked public outcry and protests. Besides, it should be noted here that the Spanish-language version she performed was originally commissioned by the U.S. State Department in 1945 during President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s administration.

 

Nezza, who is a 30-year-old artist whose full name is Vanessa, sang the Spanish version on the field before the Dodgers faced the San Franciso Giants. I doubt if some of her critics would have freaked out had someone else performed the national anthem in German or Italian. That's what I call cultural bias and not patriotism.

 

Nezza got paid for her performance. She stood up for her ETHNICITY as an American citizen of Mexican descent. Don't like it? Try to sue her! Trump can send out aircraft to bomb Iran in an unprovoked attack and he aided and abetted Israel in its genocide in Gaza for the last 20 months and then threatened to ethnically cleanse Gaza, but MAGA clans want to cast stones? Give me a freaking break!

 

Yes, there is an executive order issued by President Trump on March 1, 2025, designating English as our national language. But that is not a law that was passed by US Congress. The same with Trump's Executive Order 2020 Muslim Travel Ban, which the court struck as illegal and unconstitutional.  That is why in Travel Ban II the President added Cuba and Venezuela so he doesn't look like he was singling out Muslims. Ironically, his Travel Bann II did not include Saudia Arabia. In other words, EOs are not laws and they are suggestions and interpretations of the laws but not laws themselves.

 

Contrary to popular belief, we don't have a national language. At best, American, which is different enough from English to warrant its language subset, is the common tongue, but there is no legal requirement to speak it, and we have laws stating that official documents must be made available in multiple languages.

 

According to the latest data, one-third of people in our armed forces are foreign-born. If Americans wish to show respect towards the sacrifices and contributions made by minority groups, why not symbolically accept and honor the fact that they can read the sing the National Anthem or recite the Pledge of Allegiance (PoA) in their native tongues. 

 

In 2013, Tom Lopez, the principal of Rocky Mountain High School in Fort Collins, Colorado received a death threat from parents after allowing the POA to be read in various foreign languages including Arabic. The main objection once again was against the Arabic reading. His reaction was "This is very American and not un-American", adding, "When people pledge allegiance to the United States, that is exactly what they are saying, they are just using another language as their vehicle."