Barr Strikes Out Singing the Anthem

Americans take most things too seriously. A case in point is the recent faux pas committed by Roseanne Barr. She didn’t do a very good job singing, or should I say, screeching the national anthem, but when people ask a comedienne who can’t sing to sing, what do they expect? Roseanne Barr attempted to do the obvious; since she couldn’t sing, she tried to make her rendition of the “Star Spangled Banner” funny. She failed. So what?

There are anthem singers whose voices would make dogs howl. They are just as offensive to the ears as Roseanne Barr was, but unlike Barr, they still somehow managed to receive applause.

At the end of the anthem, people became upset because she spit. The big news is baseball players spit too, but nobody gets upset with them. She joked about this ancient ritual of baseball and now everyone is upset. Even President Bush had to put his two cents in so he’d look good for his constituency of ultraconservative anthem and flag worshipers.

I applaud Roseanne Barr for the honesty and courage she has displayed through this whole ordeal which shouldn’t have been an ordeal at all. She was merely exercising her rights under the First Amendment. Enough is enough. Lighten up, America.

BETH TARBELL

Santa Ana Heights