Let’s start with an intelligent quote:
“In the first place, we should insist that if the immigrant who comes here in good faith becomes an American and assimilates himself to us, he shall be treated on an exact equality with everyone else, for it is an outrage to discriminate against any such man because of creed, or birthplace, or origin. But this is predicated upon the person’s becoming in every facet an American, and nothing but an American … There can be no divided allegiance here. Any man who says he is an American, but something else also, isn’t an American at all. We have room for but one flag, the American flag … We have room for but one language here, and that is the English language … and we have room for but one sole loyalty and the is a loyalty to the American people.”
Now we delve into the stupidity spoken 101 years after:
“…you need to make sure your child can speak Spanish.
You should be thinking about how can your child become bilingual.” Barack Obama 2008 (video to follow)Did Barack have an ice cream headache when he gave that speech in
Barack has slid, yet again, back into his comfort zone… The far left (even MSNBC admits Obama is SOLIDLY in the top 20 three years in a row). On July 8th, he stated that he does not understand why people are calling for “English only” in the
Well Barack, don’t forget where you are. This is the
Voting has become cumbersome with the various “language” ballots (Thank you for the example California), and it would be perfectly legal and justified to offer ballots in ONLY English. Remember the requirements for citizenship; must speak, read, and write English! Only citizens of the
Fact: ONLY US citizens may vote in the Presidential election.(thank you PA and TX)
Fact: To become a citizen you must speak English.
My last words on this:
As a private citizen, the Government should NEVER mandate that I must write or speak in ANY other language.
And one last opinion:
It is rude to speak another language in front of others if it is not the common language of the land. This is to those French people who sit on the stoop and talk “nineteen to the dozen” in French. (Yes I am French.)
I am going to ensure that you all can read and hear what raised my temperature. I don’t want anyone to second guess the words coming out of Barack’s mouth here, so not only did I put up a video, but the words have been written under the video. Please read along as you listen to this 1 minute clip from his speech.
"I ah I I don’t understand when, people are going around worrying about, we need to have English only.
They they wanna pass a law, we want just, ah, we want English only.
Now I agree that, immigrants should learn English.
I agree with that. But, but understand this.
Instead of worrying about whether, ah immigrants can learn English they’ll learn English you need to make sure, your child can speak Spanish.
You should be, thinking about how can, your child become bilingual.
We should have every child, speaking more than one language.
Yo its embarrassing, its embarrassing when when ah, eu when Europeans come over here.
They all speak English they speak French they speak German, and then we go over to Europe, an an ah wah ah all we’s can say is, merci beaucoup ... Right?"
Ok, if you haven’t found humor in Barack’s words say the title of this post with the same accent and "swing" that you say Barack’s full name with.
2 comments:
That video was the silliest thing I've ever heard. And the last time I checked high schools require that you have at least two years of another language to graduate. This is no different from other countries that I have visited in my travels.
I spent a week in Korea, where it is revered if someone can speak English. People who speak English there get the best paying jobs. And really the only people who spoke to me in English were the middle school kids and sales people that could answer 'how much'. So are we really such an embarrassment to other countries? And why should we even care?
Jenna,
I am sorry I missed your comment. I apologize for the tardy response. I hope you read my entire response, as there are a few (long) points that I want to make.
I agree with your sentiment about the video being "silly" but disagree with the fact that you must have two years of language to graduate high school. Not to say I disagree with a student learning a different language, but rather there is no "requirement." The two years of language is only a “good idea,” not a “requirement.” The language suggestion that a high school student receives is for college applications. Admission offices like to see that a student has taken time to learn other languages just as they like extra curricular activities on a student’s application. It is NOT required. Further, to receive a GED, a student is not required to show any proficiency in any language other than English. There are no foreign language requirements in the 6 hour test. (Please keep in mind that the federal guidelines do not state a student must have any background in foreign language arts for a high school diploma or equivalency. Some states may require a foreign language. To my knowledge, my state of New Hampshire does not require a foreign language.)
Your trip to Korea has given you some insight to one of my points. If you are going to learn a language (no matter what your first language) you learn a language that is economically beneficial. For example, I might like to learn German as it would be an economically beneficial language for me. There are industries within Germany that I might trade with, work with, or even merge with. (Circuit boards, investment firms, avionics, science and technology firms, etc.) Therefore, German would be a language that could benefit me personally. As far as Spanish, where is the benefit? There are no businesses that I wish to work with, trade with, or merge with. What is the keystone niche that Mexico has that could compel me to do business there or other countries in South America? Even Spain has little to offer me economically. Yes, there are many people who have come to America who speak Spanish. But unless I want to talk to a farm worker, house keeper, or any other VISA worker from Central or South America, what is the purpose in learning Spanish? (By the way, yes I do know a little Spanish. I still won't speak it.)
What you saw in Korea was exactly what I speak to today. A Korean child that is learning English today is being set up to play on the world stage. They are being allowed the chance to converse in a language that will be economically beneficial to their adult lives. By learning English, they can speak with American, English, and Australian businesses in an effective, profitable way. By learning English AND specializing in a field that allows global partnerships, a child in Korea can become a player on the world stage. This allows them to be profitable to themselves as well as their country as a whole. I call this "learning up" because it is a way for an individual to increase their potential by learning a new language. To learn a language that has no economic implications, or negative implications, there is no benefit. Hence, you would be "learning down." This does not mean it is a bad thing to learn such a language, but economically there is no gain. We all want to make more money, right?
As far as being an embarrassment, no, we are not an embarrassment. Foreigners often enjoy when we make the attempt to speak their language in their land. It gives them a sense of pride to hear that we are trying to use their tongue, and rightly so. Often, you will notice that if you try to speak their language, THEY will alter the conversation by speaking English. Typically this is out of respect for you. Sometimes it is because you’re butchering their language, and rarely it is because they can not understand your attempts to speak their language. No matter the reason, people respect the fact that you tried to talk to them as an equal. This is why I said that a person should learn the language of the land before they go to said land. You don't need to master the language, just get enough to get by. This is a respect issue, not a mandate by any means. As I stated, you will most often be speaking in English soon enough. There will be times where you must converse solely in another language, so it is a good idea to understand enough to speak to someone effectively. This is the issue I have with the lazy people who come here and refuse to learn OUR language.
Mr. Obama seems to think that we need to show more respect to those who refuse to show us the slightest consideration. Such people are those who have decided to live in the United States, yet speak only a foreign tongue in our country. He thinks we need to speak Spanish because people come here and refuse to learn the language. He forgot that the door swings both ways. He stated that we need to learn another language without addressing the fact that people who come here need to speak English. His comments about American in France can easily be transposed to Mexicans in the United States. Why does he think we need to learn other languages, but does not feel that people should understand OUR language when they come here? Can we say Hypocrite?
In closing, let me state again that I see no issue with an individual learning a new language. If a person CHOOSES to learn a new language, all the power to them. My thought is that one should choose the language that will assist them personally in the business world, not the language that allows them to converse with those who are too lazy to learn the language of the country they reside in.
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