What ideological agenda is that? It seems to me to be consistent with the ideology this country was founded on. What is it again that is inscribed on the statue of liberty?
This sounds a little condescending. Also, this song does not belong to YOU. It belongs to anyone who calls themselves American, hyphenated or not.
I think the inclusiveness of other languages in that song represents what is at the very foundation of this country. It is not suggesting that America become something something, it is showing us how we are walking the walk and living the promise of equality and the peaceful coexistence of people from different cultures. The idea that they can live in a way that maintains a respect for their personal history amongst people who have very different histories and do so in peace because we all agree on the fundamental idea of tolerance and freedom is pretty damn awesome and very much in keeping with what we as a nation claim to be about.
You are free to disagree with me. I don't need to be lectured about tolerance and freedom, and I don't need to be patronised nor spoken down to. You can disagree with me without being self-righteous, whether you are interested in why I feel as I do or not. Your disagreement does not make you superior to me, and my sharing my history in growing up in the midst of another culture does not make me "condescending", despite your rude comment to the contrary. I makes me completely appreciative of the vibrancy of Mexican culture, of VietNamese culture, of Chinese culture, of Persian culture, of Filipino culture, all of which have given me friends, peers and colleagues who have enriched my life, as I hope I have enriched theirs.
There are few people who have joyfully interacted with more diverse cultures and individuals in my lifetime than I, and I count myself among those who have in my lifetime put themselves on the line to demand civil rights for all, despite the risks of the era. I am still doing so. However, that does not mean that I do not have a right to be annoyed when, at public events and on television commercials, certain national anthems are being sung in a foreign tongue for a primarily English-speaking audience.
This country goes the extra mile for its non-English speaking citizens, residents and guests. We provide free English tutoring, ballots and other public documents are available in dozens of different languages, translators are available free of charge for any who require them, from the classroom to the courtroom, one of the very few countries on the planet that does so. I support this wholeheartedly. I also understand that it sometimes takes a generation or two for assimilation into the American culture, an assimilation which does indeed require being able to eventually communicate with each other. The coexistence of the dozens and dozens of diverse cultures in America does add to our richness as a nation, but I will point out that although these cultures have maintained their history throughout the development of our nation as it is today, those cultures understood that eventually they would have to communicate in the common language of the nation in order to become a part of their new country, and not just an isolated pocket unable to understand their neighbors, and their own government officials.
So yes, I am annoyed by it, almost as annoyed as I am by your intolerance of any who have differing opinions and life experiences than your own. You disappoint me.