The latest "politically correct" spin by the liberal society in this country is that the USA has become a "Mosaic"...defined as a blend of people from around the world that speak different languages, have different cultures, and we should respect and accommodate them. I read recently that some school administrators have even discouraged teachers from using the well known term "Melting Pot", as it may sound discriminatory.
Europe is a mosaic, we are not. As a businessman I traveled throughout Europe for more than 30 years. What is interesting is that the European "mosaic" society of many languages uses English as their official business language. Throughout our history, the USA has been known as, and proud to be, a "melting pot". Here is Websters definition of that term:
Melting Pot: noun: A place where a variety of races, cultures, or individuals assimilate into a cohesive whole.
Note the key words: "assimilate into a cohesive whole". The USA has always been a place where people could come to escape repression, religious persecution, political persecution, and join a society that was a melting pot of people that wanted a better life, the freedom to pursue their dreams, and become part of something much larger than a mosaic society...known as "The American Dream".
The "mosaic" dream is a country that speaks all languages and everyone lives somewhat isolated within their own culture . That is not the United States of America. We are Americans, we speak English, and immigrants came here to escape, live a life of freedom, and to "assimilate into a cohesive whole". Our national language is English, if you want to speak another language why did you come here? This is not discrimination, it is who we are...our ancestors came here speaking other languages, but when they came here they spoke English (or tried to), and were proud to do it. My wife tells the story of her grandparents arriving here in the early 1900's from Norway and refusing to allow their children to speak anything but English in their home, "If you want to be an American, you will learn the language". It seems to be the opposite now...in fact we even educate immigrant children in their native language,"to respect their culture".
So when you hear the term "mosaic", it may sound better than "melting pot", but it is code for - lets print voting ballots in many different languages , print all government forms in other languages, teach in other languages..."to accommodate and respect other cultures". The tragic aspect of this is that when children are isolated from "English only" teaching, and encouraged to speak their own language, they become second class citizens with no hope of achieving the American dream. Without being fluent in our "national " language they are destined to live a life without much of a future, and quite often requiring government assistance.
In 1963 Martin Luther King made his famous "I have a dream" speech, as he preached for equal opportunities for African Americans and their desire to live the American dream.
I have a dream also. I dream that some day I will phone my bank, and instead of the recording saying, "Dial 1 for English", I will hear; "This bank only does business in English, the national language of the United States of America. If you wish to conduct business in another language, please visit one of our local branches and bring an interpreter with you that can convert your native language into English. We look forward to assisting you and welcome to America. Have a nice day".
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Como la mayoría del tiempo, estoy de acuerdo contigo. Si quieres saber por qué estoy escribiendo en español, es porque hiciste "click" con el botón izquierdo. No jodas... tengo el derecho de hablar en cualquier idioma en este mosaic.
You’ve lost sight of the idea of a melting pot. In a melting pot all of the components come together to make a homogenous whole. America has never been homogenous, merely less heterogenous than other countries. This homogeneity, however, can change as the country changes. As more Spanish speaking individuals enter our country, the melting pot should rightly be more influenced by their language and culture; a melting pot is merely a “law of the masses.” Throughout our history this pot has been predominately English speaking, but that is gradually changing. This is neither good nor bad, it is merely fact. If you want to maintain the idea of an English speaking melting pot you will have to limit immigration of Spanish speaking individuals, which many politicians support. While this is a viable solution, I don’t think it would be advantageous to our future interests (as Americans).
The world has become more and more international as the internet and affordable transportation have allowed individuals to converse and meet with others from around the world. Excluding ourselves from this international world by limiting the languages supported and taught in our public (and private) school systems will eventually hurt our economic interests around the world. This doesn’t mean we have to adopt the mosaic society, but it does mean that our melting pot will be more multi-cultural.
You also state that, “The tragic aspect of this (speaking different languages) is that when children are isolated from ‘English only’ teaching, and encouraged to speak their own language, they become second class citizens with no hope of achieving the American dream.” Individuals who speak languages in addition to English are not at a disadvantage; they are merely able to converse with a larger population around the world. It would also be difficult to show that, “Without being fluent in our ‘national’ language they are destined to live a life without much of a future, and quite often requiring government assistance.” It would be a huge undertaking to prove this last point; just because this seems true from your limited (in reference to this enormity of this issue) experience does not make it the case. It might surprise you to realize the non-fluent individuals who live quite well as chefs, university professors, and construction workers. To be clear, I am not saying that you are wrong, but merely that you surely don’t have information to back this claim.
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