(no subject)
So last night I got into a long, drawn out, heated, argumentative, slightly intoxicated, opinionated discussion with a very active republican, and it's really got me inspired to write down a lot of these thoughts. I'll start by saying that the conversation began when the aforementioned republican denounced having to take extra summer school classes of "Mexican".
So apparently, because Mexicans speak a different dialect of Spanish than actual Spaniards, it's absolutely appropriate for us to call this language "Mexican." Does that mean that we speak "American?" After all, in the United States we speak a completely different dialect of "English", a dialect that has absolutely butchered any beautiful elements of this language. That's right, the United States has bastardized the English language, and yet we still have the gall to belittle Mexico (oh, by the way, ALL Central and South American countries can be classified as Mexico, including Brazil who has an entirely different national language; just don't DARE count those countries as a part of "America the Beautiful), and the way that the Spanish language has evolved in their culture.
God forbid that this heathen language infiltrates our perfect American culture. Yes, we sure are one incredibly cultured country, and I'm sure all other countries around the world wish they were as privileged to have traditions as rich as hot-dog eating contests, steroid-pumped athletes getting paid millions of dollars to provide minimal athletic entertainment and maximum media scandals, NASCAR races, and by God, the ability to deep fry anything and put it on a stick. However, I digress; I cannot imagine how shattered our society would be if we had to learn any more of those ridiculous sounding words such as "jalapeno" or "sombrero". It doesn't matter that other languages have contributed to our bastardized-English for centuries--aside from the Latin-based languages that we share roots with, we have thousands of common vocabulary stemming from German, Arabic, Slavic, and even many native tribal languages--but having restroom signs in this goddammed Mexican? That will surely send our country to hell. Assisting anyone who is of hispanic origin (nearly 20% of our country's population, and growing) in finding their way around, communicating, or connected English and Spanish vocabulary makes no sense; if they come to America, they need to learn our language, not just for practical reasons but out of respect.
Alright, I'll stop the satirical wit, mostly because it makes me ill even to pretend to think that way. But the last point I want to use as segue, because many people feel this is a valid argument for their "American way or no way" ideals. Okay, I think it's a fair deal to say that people who come here should be able to speak a fair amount of English, which at this moment is our one national language. But if you believe this, then if you EVER travel to another country where another language is spoken, out of the same "respect" you should learn their language. And when you go to this country and realize that your French or Italian sucks, you'll find that while not all the locals are very open to speaking English, there are many vendors, teachers, even just plain citizens, who have learned the English language (a very complicated language to learn) for the sole purpose of helping out your lazy American ass. We want "respect?" I think that situation might qualify as respect, not just for our language, but for all people as essential parts of creating a broad network of communication throughout the world. They will learn our language and help us out in their own countries, yet we see no need to learn any other languages because we are way too comfortable milking our beloved English for all it's worth. I'm not even advocating fluency, a process that takes years of practice and study, but having enough respect to learn a few common phrases that would help people out who are new and adjusting to the country? That might take a few glances in a Spanish-English dictionary, or even a website, for God's sake. Come on, we're America, we're willing to Google anything.
Well, I could go on forever about how people's resistance to opening up to other cultures truly hurts themselves, their country, and the globe. But all I really want to say is how important I think communication is. It's the one part of human culture that can make or break our entire race. It can prevent wars (see the Cold War: resolutions) if used effectively. A lack of communication nearly always leads to a major conflict. Communicating propaganda has obviously had a major effect on our world, and i do not think examples are even necessary for proof. But our ability to understand other countries, their motives and their cultures, may help us avoid getting overwhelmed by a lot of the negative, brainwashing propaganda. After all, not all "propaganda" is bad; it can be a motivating force for positive action. But being able to open up windows of basic communication networks with countries such as Mexico, aside from the major political and economic leaders, cannot only benefit the both of us economically, but can open us up to new and interesting cultural aspects that we never even considered before. Why are we so determined to have a stagnant and conservative (not the political connotation!) America? Isn't that what makes/made our country so glorious? The grand melting pot, anyone is welcome, anything can happen, the future is bright because the United States provides so much freedom and lacks so many of the universal restrictions in all other countries. A country created for the people, not just pompous Anglo-Saxons, but all the people. So instead of trying to assert our authority over anyone who can't speak English as well as we can, open up a little bit to the new waves of exciting culture that keep our country such an interesting place to live. And if you have no desire to drop the cocky English attitude, rendez-vous with all your Anglo-homies in England, surely they will LOVE you there.
I'm going to watch the World Cup game on Univision. (The "Mexican" channel)
So apparently, because Mexicans speak a different dialect of Spanish than actual Spaniards, it's absolutely appropriate for us to call this language "Mexican." Does that mean that we speak "American?" After all, in the United States we speak a completely different dialect of "English", a dialect that has absolutely butchered any beautiful elements of this language. That's right, the United States has bastardized the English language, and yet we still have the gall to belittle Mexico (oh, by the way, ALL Central and South American countries can be classified as Mexico, including Brazil who has an entirely different national language; just don't DARE count those countries as a part of "America the Beautiful), and the way that the Spanish language has evolved in their culture.
God forbid that this heathen language infiltrates our perfect American culture. Yes, we sure are one incredibly cultured country, and I'm sure all other countries around the world wish they were as privileged to have traditions as rich as hot-dog eating contests, steroid-pumped athletes getting paid millions of dollars to provide minimal athletic entertainment and maximum media scandals, NASCAR races, and by God, the ability to deep fry anything and put it on a stick. However, I digress; I cannot imagine how shattered our society would be if we had to learn any more of those ridiculous sounding words such as "jalapeno" or "sombrero". It doesn't matter that other languages have contributed to our bastardized-English for centuries--aside from the Latin-based languages that we share roots with, we have thousands of common vocabulary stemming from German, Arabic, Slavic, and even many native tribal languages--but having restroom signs in this goddammed Mexican? That will surely send our country to hell. Assisting anyone who is of hispanic origin (nearly 20% of our country's population, and growing) in finding their way around, communicating, or connected English and Spanish vocabulary makes no sense; if they come to America, they need to learn our language, not just for practical reasons but out of respect.
Alright, I'll stop the satirical wit, mostly because it makes me ill even to pretend to think that way. But the last point I want to use as segue, because many people feel this is a valid argument for their "American way or no way" ideals. Okay, I think it's a fair deal to say that people who come here should be able to speak a fair amount of English, which at this moment is our one national language. But if you believe this, then if you EVER travel to another country where another language is spoken, out of the same "respect" you should learn their language. And when you go to this country and realize that your French or Italian sucks, you'll find that while not all the locals are very open to speaking English, there are many vendors, teachers, even just plain citizens, who have learned the English language (a very complicated language to learn) for the sole purpose of helping out your lazy American ass. We want "respect?" I think that situation might qualify as respect, not just for our language, but for all people as essential parts of creating a broad network of communication throughout the world. They will learn our language and help us out in their own countries, yet we see no need to learn any other languages because we are way too comfortable milking our beloved English for all it's worth. I'm not even advocating fluency, a process that takes years of practice and study, but having enough respect to learn a few common phrases that would help people out who are new and adjusting to the country? That might take a few glances in a Spanish-English dictionary, or even a website, for God's sake. Come on, we're America, we're willing to Google anything.
Well, I could go on forever about how people's resistance to opening up to other cultures truly hurts themselves, their country, and the globe. But all I really want to say is how important I think communication is. It's the one part of human culture that can make or break our entire race. It can prevent wars (see the Cold War: resolutions) if used effectively. A lack of communication nearly always leads to a major conflict. Communicating propaganda has obviously had a major effect on our world, and i do not think examples are even necessary for proof. But our ability to understand other countries, their motives and their cultures, may help us avoid getting overwhelmed by a lot of the negative, brainwashing propaganda. After all, not all "propaganda" is bad; it can be a motivating force for positive action. But being able to open up windows of basic communication networks with countries such as Mexico, aside from the major political and economic leaders, cannot only benefit the both of us economically, but can open us up to new and interesting cultural aspects that we never even considered before. Why are we so determined to have a stagnant and conservative (not the political connotation!) America? Isn't that what makes/made our country so glorious? The grand melting pot, anyone is welcome, anything can happen, the future is bright because the United States provides so much freedom and lacks so many of the universal restrictions in all other countries. A country created for the people, not just pompous Anglo-Saxons, but all the people. So instead of trying to assert our authority over anyone who can't speak English as well as we can, open up a little bit to the new waves of exciting culture that keep our country such an interesting place to live. And if you have no desire to drop the cocky English attitude, rendez-vous with all your Anglo-homies in England, surely they will LOVE you there.
I'm going to watch the World Cup game on Univision. (The "Mexican" channel)