Right to protest, common sense need not apply here

[Thorne]

Speaking for myself, I tend to agree that Americans, especially, tend to balk at learning other lanquages. But the issue in this country right now is whether we, as a nation, should be required to cater to every language spoken by "visitors" to our land. I have no quarrel with someone emigrating here and retaining their own language and customs. What I do object to is the concept that the United States is REQUIRED to help them retain their language without learning English.

If you come to this land with a French driver's license it will be accepted by any police force in the country, whether or not you can speak English. But if you want to apply for a driver's license from here, I feel it is only reasonable to expect you to learn at least enough English to take the test. Too many people feel that we must provide the test in their native language, at our expense.

True, many European natives speak English quite well. I am constantly, and pleasantly, surprised by the number of people from overseas who can make themselves understood, at least, in my language. I know, despite taking several languages in school, I could not do the same. But if I were to move to, for example, Germany, I would expect myself to learn the language there, for my own benefit if for no other reason. I would not, could not, expect everyone I meet to understand English, nor would I expect the German government to kowtow to my inability to speak their language.

Like many in this country, my ancestors moved here from central Europe. They came speaking little or no English, and they settled in areas where others who spoke their language already lived. But they worked to learn English, because they had adopted this country as their home, and because they wanted to become citizens. Their children, my grandparents, were taught in English speaking schools, and had to learn from English speaking teachers. They didn't expect their teachers or their classmates to understand Polish or Slavik. And this is the way things still are in virtually every country in the world. You want to live there, you'd better learn the language.

Yet in this country we are being inundated with DEMANDS for bi-lingual schools, primarily English and Spanish. More and more ads and signs are being posted in both languages. There was even a case in Philadelphia where a store owner was blasted by the city politicians for posting a sign in his store saying "English only spoken here." In my mind this is criminal.

There are strong reasons why English is so common in large areas of the world. The primary one is probably the influence of Hollywood on young people everywhere. Many businesses throughout the world want, or wanted, to do business here, and needed to learn the language. (Conversely, it seems that American companies wanting to do business overseas haven't always bothered to learn the languages and customs of their customers. That is also appalling and arrogant in the extreme.)

As for specialized schooling for other cultures or ethnic groups, I have no problems with that. But if they want to be citizens of this country, they should be required to ALSO learn English. After all, they have come here, presumably, for a better life. Trying to turn us into what they left behind is counterproductive at best!