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SALT LAKE CITY — It's happened: People want to do away with the current national anthem to replace it with a pop song by singer Miley Cyrus.
A group is petitioning the White House's We The People website to replace the "Star-Spangled Banner" with Cyrus' pop song "Party in the USA." Why? Because "it is what's best for the country," according to the petition.
All petitions are required to receive 100,000 signatures in a 30-day period before the White House must issue a formal response. As of Thursday, the petition had fewer than 1,000 signatures and will likely not receive the required signatures to merit a formal response.
Even if the petition manages to obtain the required signatures, it is more than likely the national anthem will remain — unless Congress really wants to change things up.
The Star-Spangled Banner was penned by Francis Scott Key in 1814 after he saw an attack by the British Royal Navy during the War of 1812. The song gained popularity in the years that followed, becoming the official tune to be played with the raising of the flag. It became the national anthem in 1931 when Pres. Herbert Hoover signed it into law.
Related:
Thousands sign US petition to deport Piers Morgan
Tens of thousands of people have signed a petition calling for British CNN host Piers Morgan to be deported from the U.S. over his gun control views.The White House's We The People website was launched in Sept. 2011 as a way for American citizens to petition the White House on a myriad of issues. Following the Newtown, Conn., massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary, where 26 people were killed, a petition for new gun-control measures reached 100,000 signatures in less than 24 hours.
Several petitions have received a formal response by the White House, but a petition to begin construction of a Star Wars-inspired Death Star by 2016 has been likely the most entertaining. The White House said a Death Star would not be created and offered a clever response titled "This isn't the petition response you're looking for."
"The Administration shares your desire for job creation and a strong national defense, but a Death Star isn't on the horizon," the petition says. "The construction of the Death Star has been estimated to cost more than $850,000,000,000,000,000. We're working hard to reduce the deficit, not expand it.
"The administration does not support blowing up planets," the petition continues. "Why would we spend countless taxpayer dollars on a Death Star with a fundamental flaw that can be exploited by a one-man starship?"
