.. because I'm pretty sure this is in there along with the horned beast and the end of days business.
Alright, straight to Mexico City we go and El Presidente' Felipe Calderon, whom in a September 2nd (Labor Day weekend for us no less) speech aimed at our government, railed against the new crack downs on "undocumented workers." Per Reuters - Mexican President Felipe Calderon accused the United States on Sunday of stepping up persecution and abuse of undocumented Mexican workers with a crackdown on illegal immigrants.
EL Presidente', whom is as of this moment still not a member of the US government said, "I want to express again an energetic protest at the unilateral measures taken by the U.S. Congress and government which exacerbate the persecution and abusive treatment of undocumented Mexican workers."
Just curious ... am I the only one who feels like their hair is on fire and their eyes are bleeding at this point? "Unilateral measures?" Just whom does he suggest we consult WHEN ENFORCING OUR OWN LAWS??!! By the way "Castro light", it is PROSECUTION, not "persecution" in which we are engaging. Let this be a lesson to all the Spring Breakers out there - this is the result of swallowing the worm - dementia and incoherent babbling.
In a somewhat related topic, my 8 year old (a few days into 3rd grade) came home with his latest homework assignment today. "Write three paragraphs on why it is helpful to speak two languages." Not "more than one" mind you, but "two." I wonder which "other" language they might be referring to given the directions were printed on the back in SPANISH! Now, before you guys jump into the vast benefits of speaking multiple languages let me say I agree whole heartily! In fact, I interrupted Jordan from his evening reading (he has a school log in which the books title plus my signature are required for 4 reading sessions a week - I have him reading a bio on George Washington right now) and pointed out to him that Condi Rice (he knows who she is) speaks 7 different languages and it's one of the reasons she is so useful to the president. I went on to tell him I hope he learns as many languages as her (and here comes the BUT) but, I said, anytime you travel - or especially relocate - to another country, you should show the people of that nation the respect of learning their native tongue prior to going. Not master it mind you (especially regarding traveling), but a functional use, especially if you are planning to live there.
Now, was I reading too much into what the homework assignment was trying to achieve? Before you answer that , let's put it into the context of where I live. English first (not only) is a hot topic out here for obvious reasons. There are protest marches on both sides, a hot market of radio "advocacy" shows - for which illegals are the only topic, and entire school board meetings on whether or not to emblazon "La Officina" on the door to the Principal's office - I shit you not. And just guess where the teacher's union stands on this? So, amongst the hot, ongoing debate this part of the nation is embroiled in, no one's going to tell me that these type of homework assignments aren't "message plagued." So - we, my son and I, sent them a message right back. I explained to him how wonderful legal immigrants are to this nation, that we are all sons and daughters of them; that English was the language of success, etc. And here's what he wrote:
"One of the reasons speaking more than one language is useful is for immigrants. Immigrants coming to this country have a much better chance of success if they learn English, which for them would be a second language. Also, it would be helpful for Americans to learn Spanish so that they can better teach newly arriving immigrants how to speak English."
With tears in my eyes and a bursting heart I embraced the young lad and exclaimed, JOB WELL DONE MY SON!" And I gleefully lent my signature to the bottom of his homework page. Man I love shaping young minds.
FR
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3 comments:
I am hesitant to begin this beef again, but what the hell?
Seeing as the jist of your post seemed focused on English versus Spanish and not on the sinful, apocolyptic aspect of illegal immigration into this country, I'll focus this response on that topic.
From about the 5th Century AD (that's "anno Domini", not "Common Era", by the way!) until Oct. 1066, the language of commerce, business and trade in central and southern Britain was a fledgling Germanic tongue now called "English". The closer one gets to 1066, the greater the area and influence of the language on the island, until the century before the invasion, we find that, outside of ecclesiastical or royal correspondence, the language of choice is English.
Then the Normans take over. French is now the language of the ruling class, and nearly all business, trade and official documentation is conducted in Latin first, and French second.
However, it is MY opinion... drawn from study and consideration... that the resurgence of the English language in England in the 200 years after the invasion of 1066 is due to the simple fact that English is a more versatile and flexible tongue. There is a reason why Latin faded into obscurity and-or evolved into the Romanic languages of French, Spanish, Italian, Romanian, et al., and that reason is simply that it couldn't develop as quickly and as completely as English.
The poetical form that English lends itself to is seen from its roots in Chaucer, right through Shakespeare, Milton, Hume, and into the modern era. It is the language of choice in the global technologies industry, the "lingua franca" of business and international enchange, and it is the overwhelmingly dominant language of these United States of America.
Now I am just as prone to frustration at having to listen to a Spanish menu option on most business phone calls... but I am not going to let that bit of social pandering by Big Business (and it is not something sanctioned or required by the Federal Government, is it?) force itself into my life to the degree that I am ready to make English the "official" language of this country. At least once in our past, only 65% of "Americans" spoke English at all... the rest spoke French or any one of hundreds of native dialects... yet, English was still the dominant tongue.
If a corporation or business wishes to sell itself to the Spanish speaking population by offering services in Spanish, who am I to complain? If the US Federal Government chooses to conduct certain types of business in a bi-lingual nature due to the fact that almost 1 in 5 residents in the country do not speak English as a 1st language, who am I to bitch?
If English were to be the "official" language of the Untied States, what would that say to the CITIZENS of Puerto Rico, or Guam, or the US Virgin Islands, where English is NOT the primary language of the region? If the IRS were to STOP offering services in Spanish, what would that do to the 35 million LEGAL citizens of the US that do not speak English as a first language, and haven't mastered it enough to feel comfortable betting their very livelyhood on a misunderstanding with a government bean-counter?
Once again, I am voicing concern that people like YOU, Ryan, who get all hot and bothered by the prospect of this nation buttering up to illegal immigrants by offering benefits and ease-of-access are actually seeing what this society is doing to accomodate the 35,000,000 and more LEGAL but still Spanish-speaking citizens of this great country.
Now, do I think the Mexican President is an idiot? YES!
Do I think the last Mexican President was an idiot? YES!
Do I think the US should shape domestic policy and law enforcement decisions around the grumblings of our southern neighbor? Shit, NO!
But I DO think that the 35 million Spanish-speaking CITIZENS of this nation have the right to expect the same access to government and services that the rest of the English-speaking population has, and that they shouldn't be punished for learning Spanish as children BEFORE learning English.
We have worked with countless immigrants in our careers that spoke English well enough to work and live in an English-speaking society... but how many of them would you have trusted with an over-the-phone explaination of YOUR tax filing? Would you have been satisfied getting a medical diagnosis for your children from a doctor that spoke the same level of English as they do?
I wouldn't.
Just my thoughts.
Titus, Titus, Titus....
Please tell me in one of your 82 boxes of books you have my History of the English Language. Please tell me it survived the storm and the move. Of all my UWS texts, that is top 5. The language of Shakespeare, Milton and Marlowe has so little in common with the language of Bede, Alfred and Harold as to be completely unrecognizable. I don't mean to nit pick, and i know I'm OCDing, but in the two hundred years post Hastings, the language that emerges is a mix of French, Anglo-Saxon (read Old English) and Latin into a new language, English. There area couple of other problems concerning Anglo-Saxon in your post, but we won't bore the audience.
And not to pick scabs, but i recall a post storm time sepnt in Miami where both Titus and Jambo had a hell of a time not speaking Spanish. Miami. FLA. USA. Now say what you want about both Guam and Puerto Rico, territories captured as a result of the Spanish American War in 1898, but Florida has been ours since 1817. The frustration of native born Americans speaking English first/only is something less than two years ago we lived first hand. I may not agree with FR's total unyielding stance, but I do understand where he's coming from.
I stand my all my comments on English... and of course I realize that Bede wasn't speaking aything we'd understand on the street... but Bede was writing at the end of the 7th Century. By the time Harold was king, less than 1 in 5 words would seem foreign to us, and those only because they really were either Norse or French.
Harold would have understood everything Armstrong said with his first step on the moon, and the only word he wouldn't have understood from Churchhill's "we shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender" is the very last word... SURRENDER. That, my friends, is a French word that wasn't used until far after Harold's death.
No, English was the language then and it is now. My analogy stands.
All the rest is fine and dandy... I told you I was simply concerned, not dead-set against it.
T
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