Uncle Same wants YOU - to start being tolerant

I was cruising along the 290 this afternoon, just like every other afternoon, driving home from school. I noticed the bumper sticker on the car in front of me, and it annoyed me.

I mean, most bumper stickers annoy me.

"You can't be Catholic and Pro-Choice," "Don't Blame me, I voted for John McCain," "Bomb Iraq And Let God Sort Em Out," and so on. Whatever. These people have the right to live in their fantasy world.

But today a bumper sticker pushed my buttons even more than usual: "Uncle Sam wants YOU — to speak English." 

First of all, what kind of moron feels that strongly against foreign language that he needs to spread this value every time he drives around? You look like an intolerant jerk. Yes, you, sir, driving the silver sedan. 

And it doesn't stop at ignorant drivers. A video emerged recently of one of our presidential candidates, Newt Gingrich, making somewhat offensive comments about bilingualism. He says in a video from 2008:

"We should replace bilingual education with [immersion] in English, so people learn the common language of the country. So they learn the language of prosperity, not the language of living in a ghetto."

There has been much speculation about what language he was thinking of when he made the idiotic comment, but many believe he was thinking of Spanish, a prominent second language in America. Newt even came out with a video in which he apologizes for his comments in Spanish.

I don't believe that a person who is supposed to represent our country to the rest of the world can be tolerated to make such bigoted comments. There are so many things wrong with his statement, but I am only allowed so many words in this article and will discuss them another time.

Interestingly, with all the diversity we encounter in our country, a second language is not emphasized in school as much as in European countries (and if Newt becomes our president, it may be emphasized even less).

Why? I am not sure. When I went to Germany, everyone spoke my language, even though I preferred that they speak their native German. How boring a world it would be if we all spoke the same language!

My response to Mr. Silver Sedan? Maybe you should try learning a second language. It might even make you smarter. And you may begin to learn patience when a person of another culture is trying to adapt to yours.

Everyone can agree that if you live in a country that is predominately one language, most people must try to speak that language just so you can go about your daily business. But, as an adult, learning a new language is very difficult. 

Please, be culturally aware, or at least make an attempt to be.

Ariel Peters can be reached by email at petersariel@ymail.com.