It’s interesting, really. Anti-Obama folks call him “elitist” as though that’s something new for a politician and those who like him take such great offense as though it’s not true. If we’re going to be honest with ourselves, I think we have to admit that most politicians are tremendously out of touch with the daily lives of the average American. The republicans typically do a better job of hiding it, though, because they’re not busy posturing for Europeans and people who wish they were Europeans.
Take, for example, Obama’s stance that everyone should learn a foreign language:
Now, I agree that immigrants should learn English. I agree with that. But understand this. Instead of worrying about whether immigrants can learn English — they’ll learn English — you need to make sure your child can speak Spanish. You should be thinking about, how can your child become bilingual? We should have every child speaking more than one language.
…O RLY?
Listen, in a perfect world we’d all speak everything. Suggesting that people should be bi-lingual isn’t that big of a deal as long as it’s not being mandated… it’s this part that doesn’t make much sense to me:
You know, it’s embarrassing when Europeans come over here, they all speak English, they speak French, they speak German. And then we go over to Europe, and all we can say [is], “Merci beaucoup.” Right?
Should we be embarrassed that some people go abroad and don’t know the language of the country they’re visiting? Maybe. Is that the same as people moving to a country and not knowing the prevailing language there? Good lord, no.
My complaint is not the suggestion that we should learn foreign languages before we travel abroad, but the suggestion that we should have to learn Spanish so that Mexican immigrants can communicate with us.
It’s just a great example of the liberal, European-wannabe mentality that is so prevalent in the Democratic Party these days.
August 15th, 2008 at 12:34 pm
I live in an area that this is an extremely hot button issue because of a local workforce that is laden with Mexican immigrants - and I totally agree with you Pete. Learning a language for leisure or travel purposes is one thing- but being FORCED to learn a language to communicate with people who have relocated to a country without basic language skills for that country is ridiculous. I would not say relocate my entire family to the Ukraine without learning the language…without having my entire family learn the language. It would be egotistical of me to move abroad and expect the people in my new country to speak MY language, so why isn’t it egotistical for other people to move to MY country and not speak the native tongue of my country.
August 15th, 2008 at 12:41 pm
Because America is always wrong, and bad, and we should do whatever we can to accommodate other countries because they all hate us.
Remember how well that worked for little kids in grade school who were always picked on? When they finally started being nice and accommodating, all of the other kids left them alone.
…right?
August 15th, 2008 at 1:18 pm
I don’t quite think he is “mandating” that everyone learn another language. His word choices - “You should be,” “We should have,” even “you need to make sure” - suggest that this is merely a recommendation. Being able to speak multiple languages is a valuable, and often highly valued, skill, and I think it is an excellent idea to promote bilingualism. Though, given that many Americans cannot even speak *English* properly, maybe it’s too much to ask that they learn a second language . . .
August 15th, 2008 at 1:23 pm
When a politician running for office starts talking about what people “should” do, it’s not difficult to read between the lines. If the plan were to try to convince people of the merits of the thing so they could do it themselves, it wouldn’t be a part of a campaign speech. This is a policy declaration, just the same as if he were to say “Everyone should have health insurance.”
As for how “valuable” being bi-lingual is, that’s hardly something that is universal across all people. Some people choose professions where being bi-lingual would be an asset, but many don’t. The assumption that knowing a foreign language is a Good Thing is one often left unexamined, but the burden that must be carried to prove that it’s worth the expense for even _most_ people is a high one.
Institutionalizing bi-lingualism will not be cheap and it seems like we might be better off fixing what’s already broken with the educational system than we would be to give the schools one more thing to fail at doing well.
August 15th, 2008 at 2:54 pm
Obama wants everyone to learn another language, but which one should it be?
The English learn French, the Australians study Japanese, and the Americans prefer Spanish.
And this leaves both Arabic and Mandarin Chinese out of the equation!
Interestingly nine British MP’s have nominated Esperanto for the Nobel Peace Prize 2008.
You can see this at http://www.lernu.net
August 15th, 2008 at 3:43 pm
Hahahaha, yes, schools are fail. And I agree; institutionalizing it would likely be a costly proposition.
This statement came from a campaign speech? Interesting. I thought it was in response to a question he was asked on “Ellen” or something.
I do agree on your original premise as well. He’s an elitist and this is an elitist attitude. Though I don’t have a problem with that - maybe I’m an elitist too . . .
And thank you for refraining from calling me “wannabe Eurotrash,” though I thought you would at least throw in a “dirty hippie.”
August 15th, 2008 at 3:48 pm
“maybe I’m an elitist too . . .”
Give me a break! “Maybe?”
August 15th, 2008 at 5:41 pm
Ha! Yeah, I set myself up for that one.
August 17th, 2008 at 9:39 pm
Agree with the sentiment that most/all politicians are completely out of touch with every-day Americans. This is partly due to the wringer our candidates are put through these days. We (not me, but a lot of people) expect our politicans to be able to solve all things (because, as we know, government is always the right answer). In reality, it’s often the person who raises the most money (by making promises for that money) that wins the race.
Obama brings elitism to a new level. I consider myself fairly well off now, have a good career going, but certainly did not have much money growing up. I’ve never been to the Mother Continent, so thankfully I was not able to embarras Obama. The fact that he considers it a “problem” that when we all visit Europe, we can’t speak French, just shows that he really thinks everyone gets to visit Europe!
My problem with him has been, when you take the sum of all of his speeches and ideas, he is, in fact, a Socialist. Wealth redistribution, energy mandates, nationalized healthcare, these are all tenets of socialism. These are also all ideals that have failed in other societies.
The simple truth of the matter is no matter if it’s Obama or McCain who is elected, the country as a nation is probably headed for a rough patch. Some individuals will do quite fine… especially the ones who can take care of themselves. We’ve spent ourselves into a hole, and the only way out is either tax raises (which hurt the economy) or spending cuts (which neither party seems to support).
And for the record, I think being bi-lingual, if it’s one’s choice, is wonderful. I would like to find the time to learn Spanish, because I think it would be very nice to go to a lot of the Mexican dining establishments here in Houston and speak to the waiters and owners in their native tounge. I think mandated bi-lingualism, either in education or in the workforce, I think is wrong. We see this here in the nursing community… where you basically HAVE to be English-Spanish in order to get a nursing job. If you want to come to America, learn English. If I go to Mexico, I’ll learn Spanish. Sounds fair, right?