Miracle on Central Avenue?
By J. James Estrada (04/05/06)
Replacing the Mexican Flag with the Grand Old Flag: Have you ever seen the movie about the 1980 U.S. Olympic Hockey Team called Miracle? It starred Kurt Russell as U.S. coach Herb Brooks. In a pivotal moment for the team, which went on to defeat the Soviets and win the gold medal, Brooks works his team over and over in a sprint skating exercise in practice. As each player skates, he demands to know who they play for. Player after player cites the college team as their team of origin. “Who do you play for?” “Boston University!” The University of Minnesota!” And so on. Finally, as the players near exhaustion, one of them says, “I play for Team USA!” Practice over and a step closer to the medal.
When Mexican immigrants (most of them illegal) march on Central Avenue in Phoenix or the Mall in Washington, D.C., carrying Mexican flags, the message is clear. They’re not ready to join the team.
That’s why these folks are being urged to carry only American flags for the next big rally scheduled for April 10th. But the Chijuja is already out of the bag. Rep. David Lujan, D-Phoenix, has empathy for the green, white, and red flag wavers:
"Their whole lives, they've grown up in this country without an identity. They've grown up and been called illegals. They have no sense of belonging. And so when they go to these rallies, they fly the Mexican flag as a means of expressing their pride and their heritage."
Big mistake when you’re trying to demand citizenship from your host country.
A provision in the McCain-Kennedy amnesty bill is that these illegals promise to learn English. I would go a step further and asked that they learn to sing “It’s a Grand Old Flag.” McCain and Kennedy could be the judges of whether the renditions past the test. They could ask Paula Abdul to sit between them and make incoherent statements after each performance: “You know I love you.”
If Grand Old Flag is too controversial for Kennedy (it uses the term “Yankee” quite a bit in the long version), I’d like to contribute the following lyrics, called Stay True America, for consideration.
Stay True America
I’m an American
True blue to the heart
I look at you and see
An American, too
True blue to the heart
As Americans
Who are at the same time one and many
As long as we share these borders
As long as we have each other, prayer, and love
There isn’t anything that can tear us apart
I’m an American
True blue to the heart
You’re an American, too
Who can tell us apart?
And we’ve come so far
Let’s keep the dream of our founding fathers
Alive and beating in our American hearts
In our American hearts, stay true America
To our American hearts
I’m an American
True blue to the heart
I look at you and see
An American, too
Stay true America
To our American hearts.
Land of the free…
Standing for liberty….
Copyright 2006 J. James Estrada
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