Tuesday, May 13, 2014

Should we strive to become a bilingual nation?

Uruguay President Jose Mujica thinks we should, and voiced that opinion at a meeting Monday with Barry Soetoro, leader of the Constitutional opposition party aka the democrats.
What benefit is it for a nation to be bilingual? Look at the mess they have in Canada with Quebec and the French language. Many nations are bilingual, this we must acknowledge. Saudi Arabians speak Arab and sheep. In Iran, its Persian and goat, and of course France where they also speak German.
So maybe we should be bilingual, that does not mean we should all learn Spanish. I am rusty now, but my second language is German. I have a friend with a Filipino wife. He has learned her tongue to a certain extent. Is that good enough for Mujica? My eldest nephew has had two wives, one from the Philippines, one from Russia. What language should he have learned? Why? The United States became a great nation because all people who migrated here learned English. That is until the invasion from the south kicked into high gear.
I am not hostile to our southern neighbors, I welcome those who come here to work and be responsible citizens. I want immigration reform, and a sealed border, not to keep them out, but to control who and what comes in. We don't need the overflow of gang violence from the cartels, nor do we need the flow of cocaine and meth that is flooding up from Mexico.
All I ask of those arriving, is be responsible people. No one here owes you a damned thing. Obey our laws. They are less restrictive then those of most nations. People here did not get rich by thievery or graft, this great nation was built by hard work and dedication. Because people had the opportunity to amass wealth from their efforts, they worked harder and did it. You can too. Our crime rate is lower then in the countries you left. We do not tolerate corruption among our police and politicians. Our court system has many flaws. It is still the best in the world.
The other thing a sealed border would do is protect those coming here from abuse, and the extreme dangers of a stroll through the desert. Many women arriving from Mexico face rape and exploitation. A sealed border would stop this.
I had thought to make this a post introducing a redneck bilingual phrase of the day with things like "NO, I don't want to screw your sister", or "thanks, but I can mow my own lawn". Some how though, this arrogance from the  king of ignorant and his guest needed a better answer.
While being bilingual is a good quality in a person, it is a bad practice for a nation. The USSR never united because they had too many language barriers. The same problem existed in Yugoslavia, and only the iron fist of Tito staved off the inevitable war. Czechoslovakia eventually split as well, and the divided people of Germany were drawn back together because of their language.
Language unites or divides a people. Where we have language barriers,we have strife. From the barrios of Los Angeles where Spanish is the norm, to the  projects of Chicago that have adopted Ebonics, language lines mark barriers. With a common language, we are strong. Lets not let those who seek to destroy us drive another wedge through our nation. We have too many of them now.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Well said.