Thoughts on 05-06:
As the old year ends and the new one enters I can't help but think of all the nonsense in the year past -- and the good things.
The most obvious nonsense is the balkanization of American society. I see it all around me, people who come here and don't speak English -- and don't learn. Years ago I used to htinkt he idea of an "official language" was poppycok; now I am not so sure. The streetsigns are in english. The writing on our money is in english. Most of us who have joined US society speak English. But what of those who don't?
If you don't want to learn the language that's up to you, but for pete's sake then realize it has consequences. Police stop you and you get shot because you can't understand them. Don't blame the police! You overdose on medication because "once" is the same as the spanish word for eleven -- not the pharmacist's fault. And last but not least the most mundane and yet significant consequence; you are left out of society.
Most people speak a bit of spanish or french or whatever these days. The high schools and even most colleges require basic courses in foriegn language. But these foriegn languages are just that -- "foriegn". The founding documents of the US were written in english and most people here -- though they may be able to ask "where's the bathroom" in Spanish, are more fluent in english. More to the point, even if you speak spanish etc., why should you go to the trouble to do so if the other person who is living here doesn't go to the trouble to speak english?
A country can survive only so long as it is united by a common idealogy and culture. But ideas and cultural norms require expression -- in a word, language. If people cannot understand one another they cannot communicate. How are newcomers to these shores to learn the culture, if they don't know the language?
Sooner or later Americans will have to realize they cannot continue to live in "two America's" -- to borrow a phrase from the lately Kerry campaign. Even if the economic cost of printing everything in multiple lingos etc. wasn't too great, the societal cost is.
Every country that assimilated immigrant populations grew stronger for it -- including, for the most part of our history, the US. Every country that refused to assimilate them, paid dearly, as example see the civil strife in France by the largely unassimilated muslim classes. There is a reason these populations were burning buses and native Parisans were not. Such violence comes from lack of understanding and common culture. And -- here comes the hate mail from the PC crowd -- the obligation for understanding rests not on the nation to which people move, but vice versa. Try going to some farflung part of Mexico and refusing to speak Spanish and see how far they bend over backwards for you. It won't happen.
The things that make America remain America are not so much the language -- if we all spoke Russain instead of English the issue would be identical -- but it's ideas. Unfortunately ideas are dependant upon language for articulation. It is impossible to assimilate populations with whom you cannot communicate. Assimilation is not a bad word, but the process by which a country welcomes it's new citizens. And it can't happen here and now without English.
Yet, years ago most immigrant groups learned english, joined US society and became as American as the ones before them. What happened?
There are two main differences now: First, the motive, and second, the cultural climate.
In the past some people came to America because of economic oppurtunity, but mostly they sought the political religious and personal freedom that made such oppurtunity exist in the first place. They were fleeing oppression, class-structured societies, civil unrest. Economic reasons played a role, of course -- a society in civil unrest will undoubtedly be poorer to its poor -- but by and large they came here because of America's idea, it's one main characteristic and export to the world: Freedom. Second, they arrived at a time before the onset of multiculturalism, which is essentionally national altruism -- putting the merits of other nations before yourself. This doctrine is now virtually part of the educational-intellectual establishment's foundations; and what began as a means of simply reminding Americans of other cultures became a tool for marginalizing our own. The result is that bilingual education and other programs deny the children of immigrants the chance to learn English. And, also, they deny Americans the chance to enforce our border laws.
The multiculturalists don't often come out openly on the side of smugglers and people peddlers but that is the essence of their ideas; and the result has been a flood of illegal immigrants, most likely over the estimated 10 million we think we have. These "immigrants" cannot speak english, and are often working in lower paying jobs that leave them little time for learnign English even if they wanted to. But that's just it -- they don't want to. They come to America and most of them send much of their earnings back home. And those who do can't -- because they are here illegally. Because the government lets them.
In the meantime, the influx of illegals provides a screen for drug smugglers and terrorists to hide among, as well as a direct threat economic and mortal; Illegals go through no medical exams and could cause epidemics of diseases, such as drug resistant TB. They also drive without insurance and licenses; and even in those states, that in a fit of absurdity, give licenses to illegals while requiring citizens to jump through hoops to renew theirs, the driver's use of insurance and obeyance of traffic laws is questionable at best.
The focus on purely economic matters -- coming here for a job -- means that outside of their ethnic communities many of these illegals have no desire to assimilate. The focus on multiculturalism ensures that any attemtp to correct the illegal problem is viewed as ricism, not law enforcement.
The result is a balkanized society.
One recent newspaper editorial -- by a Republican -- called for the passage of a "fair" guest worker program -- which is slang for amnesty for illegal aliens. What the writer -- and those in both political parties -- fail to realize, or don't want to admit, is that no such program can ever be fair -- fair to the US citizens who have to obey laws yet see those around them breaking laws at whim -- and fair to legal immigrants, who are doing everything by the book and seeing the illgeals skip ahead of them -- because they are illegal.
But ultimately, no such program can ever be fair to the nation. "Guest workers" are not guests, but permanent residents. If they are illgal, then they break the law, and drive without insurance, and could carry illnesses Americans are unused to, and -- last but not least -- are unlikely to assimilate. This means more people saying "no english". And a culpable political establishment insists on reinforcing this refusal to join American society, to the point where those uttering the words "no english" are not just saying it as a statement of fact, but one of pride.
Which brings the whole thing back to that line "we are a nation of immigrants". Yes, but only so long as those immigrants assimilate; at the point that process ceases we cease to be "a nation" of immigrants and just a collection of expatriated foriengers who happen to be living in the same geographical area.
Some multiculturalists don't realize this, and this balkanization of US society is a result of their policy. But some have expressed the hope that floods of illegal aliens would make the US less "American". Nothing could be more dangerous. For an example remember those riots in France. That is what happens when a country is no longer one country.
It is one thing to be a melting pot, but "melting" can't happen without common language. As it is we have am America that is rapidly going the way of France. You can't see it yet, but the refusal to assimilate is building up. One day -- who knows when -- we will be in great trouble because we decided today to ingore tomorrow.
- Elvis
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