The Doggy Diaries... gone to the dogs!

What has happened to the English language?

I just heard a news report that Beringer Winery is proudly introducing a new marketing program directed towards the “Latino Community” by selling wine in bottles with labels written entirely in Spanish. I instantly snapped. Excuse me, but would someone please remind me what country I live in? The last time I checked, I thought it was the USA. In addition, unless someone changed the definition of the acronym within the past 24 hours or so, I thought “USA” meant United States of America -- not the United States of Mexico, the United States of Guatemala, the United States of Chile, or the United States of Insert-Any-Country-Whose-Official-Language-Is-Not-English.

Apparently, my definition of USA is no longer valid. To be quite honest, so many companies, not to mention public taxpayer-funded government entities, have taken to pandering to any immigrant who doesn't speak English, particularly Spanish-speaking immigrants, that I no longer know my own country of residence. How many of us have walked into our state's Department of Motor Vehicles only to find applications for driver's licenses written in every language under the sun? How many of us have shopped in a Home Depot, looked up at the signage hanging from the ceiling that displays what products are located in each aisle, and found that the signage was written in Spanish? Have you ever walked into your local bank and found posters on the wall advertising everything from mortgages to money transfers written entirely in a language other than English? I bank at both Wells Fargo and Washington Mutual and have seen those signs in branches of both banks. I wonder if the time will come within the near future when English will no longer be an acceptable language to speak here in the grand ole U.S. of A.

The one thing we all share as Americans (with the notable exception of the American Indians) is that we are all either first generation immigrants or descendants of immigrants. Up until recently, the amazing thing about us was that no matter what our land of origin, we were all excited to become Americans. We didn't want to become Polish-American, Italian-American, Mexican-American, Irish-American, etc. We wanted to become AMERICAN. We understood that becoming American meant learning the culture and the language. Although many immigrants lived in enclaves and communities filled with other immigrants from their homelands, they made an honest, concerted effort to become a part of the American landscape. They soaked up English like a sponge and were ecstatic to take part in the American culture. The thought never entered their minds that once here they should continue speaking only their native language and never engage with the American people.

The mindset and attitude of immigrants from times past stands in harsh contrast to many of today's immigrants. They live, as most other immigrants before them, in communities filled with their brothers and sisters from their homeland. The disturbing aspect, however, is that after arriving they continue speaking their native language and make no attempt to learn English. They hold their own culture close to their hearts without even attempting to learn and become part of the American culture. Basically, it seems they want to recreate their homeland here in America.

To this I wonder ... if your homeland was so great that you want to recreate it here and not become American, then why in God's name did you bother immigrating?

We have made it too easy on immigrants to remain in their own little enclaves (or big enclaves, as is the case of the Mexican community here in California) and never become part of the fabric of American life. Political correctness has caused us to divide rather than unite. Although my heritage is a combination of British, Swiss, Dutch and American Indian, I never refer to myself by any of the politically correct hyphenated names (e.g., Swiss-American). In my mind, I am an American, plain and simple. Contrast that to so many people, who although born in the USA, consider themselves Latino-Americans, African-Americans or Chinese-Americans, just to name a few. Why must they segregate themselves like that? Do they identify more with Africa, China or some South American country than with the U.S.?

Do you remember when the USA was called the “great melting pot?” That melting pot now exists only in our memories. Political correctness has divided us to the point of no return. The multicultural movement has sent a signal to immigrants that they no longer need to learn English or become part of the American culture. In the name of diversity and multiculturalism, immigrants are taught that their native language and culture is far superior to anything offered by America. They are taught that they should be more proud of the country they came from than of the country they decided to immigrate to. This has got to be one of the most screwed up and bass-ackward mentalities I've ever heard. My response is (again), “If you're so proud of your homeland, then why bother moving to America?”

The liberals in this country and the multicultural, diversity and PC movements have literally destroyed English as one of the homogenizing and binding ingredients in the fabric of America that allows us to relate to each other rather than segregate ourselves. Faced with losing market share, companies have decided that it's more worthwhile to spend additional money on extra marketing campaigns to target people speaking this language or that language at the expense of alienating customers who speak English than it is to retain advertising campaigns only in English.

Although I've [unfortunately] lived in California my entire life (yes, I am trying to do something to rectify that situation), I have stubbornly refused to learn Spanish. I believe English is the language of success in this country. I believe English should be the official language of this country. I believe I should not be forced to bend over backwards to accommodate immigrants who are unwilling to learn English when they move here. I still hold to my old-fashioned beliefs that when you move to another country, you should be willing to learn the language of the people of that country. You should not force them to learn yours.

The whole situation is a very sad state of affairs, one that makes me worry about the future of this country. I have a sinking feeling that there will come a time when English in the United States will become as much a dead language as Latin. I certainly hope I never live to see that day.