Help Save the Youth of America from Exploding.
June 14, 2006 – 9:00 pmFirst off, I think my lab Daisy is sick. She is shedding more than she has ever shed before (labs don’t shed very much), she isn’t very perky, and she just mopes around all day. I don’t know what the deal is. I am getting her checked out.
Anyway, sometime between Monday afternoon and this evening I decided that Americans are crappy world citizens, and what I decide is the truth. Seriously though, coming from me, a guy who thinks the world should screw itself, this should mean something. A lot of the talk about mandating English as the national-state-municipal-eatery language is incredibly misguided. Whether or not English should be made a national of official language is an entirely different matter.
I have traveled to several foreign-language-speaking countries, and everywhere the people will either go out of the way to speak English or help a traveler speak the country’s native language. We don’t do that here. We are high and mighty in demanding absolute conformity to the American lifestyle of mom, apple pie, baseball, and English — we are the new France. Proponents of making English the official language fail to understand that nearly anybody who relocates here knows learning English is their sole key to succeeding. English the predominate language of business not only in America, but also in the world at large. Simply put, English isn’t threatened by speaking Spanish in a sandwich shop — a sandwich shop owned by descendants of immigrants. In fact, if Americans took the time to learn foreign languages, like Spanish, our earning potential would rise. With this in mind, what harm is there in being a bilingual society?
5 Responses to “Help Save the Youth of America from Exploding.”
This reminds me of Asia’s system with tourists. It’s very much like you described–if the person you’re talking to doesn’t speak English, they find someone nearby who does. I’m really interested to see how this works when I’m in Japan this summer, especially in Tokyo. Apparently most people speak enough English to get by, but I’ve heard Kyoto is much more westernized. We’ll see.
I’m extremely envious of foreign friends, though. Their language programs are so good. I would be so happy if America pushed for bilingualism.
By Sasha on Jun 14, 2006
I wish I had a good answer to our society’s desire for continued isolationism. Americans always claim to be envious of someone like me who speaks (i.e., bothered to teach himself, mostly) foreign languages, yet most Americans continue to have no interest in learning other languages and are surprised when people in other countries they visit don’t have the “common decency” to speak English. Oh well, I’m just glad I’m not one of them, and I’m glad there are a select few around America who share my sentiments, thank goodness!
On another note, do you mind if I link your blog to mine??
Dave
By Dave Kaufman on Jun 15, 2006
Not at all, Dave. I’ve reciprocated.
By Rob on Jun 15, 2006
I think Americans ought to learn a foreign language, at least a ‘romance’ language not for the purpose of being good world citizens or to enable travel with some amount of awareness; rather learning a foreign language is a key component to a ‘true’ and ‘genuine’ Liberal Arts education.
In fact I see isolationism as a direct result of the increased focus of servile arts education over liberal arts. The continued erosion of music and language training in our schools will only ensure that common human bonds, language, and experience are undermined by overzealous development of technical aptitude for pre-assumed practical applications that are entirely dependent on localized needs (everyone in Hometown USA works at the Factory and local education systems assume that all students will end up working at the Factory).
If our primary education is resultant from localized needs of application, then the student is entirely restricted by culture and social climate without any, or rather a severely retarded, possibility of expanding ones horizons. Thus, many Americans possess great technical knowledge or have great skill in a so-called laboring field, but have little awareness of the outside world and are inculcated by the social system to question anything foreign of that local system, or without practical application (you mean people paint pictures for the sake of painting pictures without reward, compensation, or practical use?).
Someone would argue American isolationism is the result of our geography - being physically isolated from the world. However I disagree with this notion in part because Americans do travel without our country, and within that country there are cultural differences from region to region including dialectic and societal idiosyncrasies, not unlike our “EMEA” and SA counterparts. The difference is we travel in cars, and large RV’s to predetermined locations designed to satisfy pre-existing expectations, id. est. we isolate our selves from other Americans whereas Europeans travel specifically to experience other things – the Grand Tour if you will. Because we do have the opportunity and do travel, but prefer to do so in an isolated manner that is pre-determined not to upset existing cognitive ideas of our destinations, I say American isolationism is cultural, not geographical, and I believe that is entirely the result of the expectations set upon us during that time we are in school.
Just my thoughts - your milage may vary.
J.
By J. on Jun 15, 2006
You’re doing a poor job of keeping your fondness of Jem a secret, what with the featuring her album on the main page of your website.
By Daniel on Jun 15, 2006