An American Unoriginal

America is known for its innovation and ingenuity. Though we may not build the products we make; Americans created companies such as Apple, Microsoft and Dell, and it was also Americans who came up with Facebook, Twitter and even Groupon. There is no question that American originality seems to be going strong and leading the world into the 21st century one tweet at a time. But apparently, the same "Think differently" attitude does not carry over into the American entertainment industry.

With musicians "sampling" (which is the term for borrowing other people's music) song after song, and literally lyric after lyric, it would appear that most artists don't feel the urgency to be innovative. As for the movies; I have lived through five Batmans (Michael Keaton, Val Kilmer, George Clooney and Christian Bale), four Supermans (including Dean Cain) and Incredible Hulks, and now on to our second Spider Man. It's safe to assume that not only are we remaking films over and over, or in most cases; just recasting. Now, at what point did we become a country of entertainment "re-gifters"?!

I am not trying to offend any die hard Americans by saying that we are not original. But, if you believe that America is the most original country in the world than you might have been absent during high school history when you learned about the "Thirteen colonies." I mean come on; "New" England, "New" Hampshire, "New" York, "New" Jersey and so on, the fact that it is called "New" literally means that there was an "Old."

Now for all the artists who were offended by being called a "re-gifter"; I'd like them to know that sampling music has been a tradition in America for long time (long before The Jackson 5 and Elvis). If America didn't "sample" music; how would every American know Britain's national anthem "God Save the Queen" by heart?! In America, we know it as "My Country, 'Tis of Thee." This is a song that every elementary student has to sing (often horribly off key) at some point in their childhood. The lyrics which were put to the anthem were written by Samuel Francis Smith in 1831. This patriotic ballad would serve as America's national anthem until 1931 when "The Star-Spangled Banner" was officially adopted. However, school children will continue to unknowingly learn the British national anthem while singing the iconic American lyrics.