A person with the initials E.D. from Redford, MI needs your help.
They think we can do better with our choice of national anthem, replacing “The Star Spangled Banner,” with Miley Cyrus’ “Party In The U.S.A.” According to their petition to the White House, the change “is what is best for this country.”
Obviously this is a silly idea, and I very much like our current anthem situation. But I also support the success of this petition, and you should too.
President Obama began this program to hear ideas from the American people, promising that if a particular petition got enough signatures, someone from his administration would give a formal response.
The best example of this so far is the petition for the U.S. government to build an actual Death Star. Mr. Obama’s chief science adviser wrote a very entertaining response that mixed Star Wars references with actual space program information. There was also the petition to take the petitions seriously. Many of the others that have met the threshold are regular policy issues that don’t lend themselves to much fun.
That’s where this Miley petition comes in. If 100,000 people sign it by August 1, we get to see what the White House says. Perhaps more interestingly, we could see who gets the assignment of penning the response. Is there a young, eager staffer who knows all the words and can make puns? Do they go with someone who could be Miley’s grandfather/mother and would lambaste the disrespectful youth of America?
The only way we find out is if enough people get involved. Remember, we’re not actually changing the song, just getting a response, so there’s really no downside. As I’m writing this, there are 843 signatures, leaving a paltry 99,157 to go.
If everyone who reads this blog signs we’ll be practically there, but maybe tell one or two friends just to be sure. And don’t forget to put your dreams in your cardigan before you leave the house.