Tony-Man vs. English Speakers

Before I kick-off "The Rockuary," there is something that is on my mind.  Having seen last night's Coca-Cola commercial where "America the Beautiful" was sang in several different languages, it apparently brought out the "We speak English in this Country" community.  Mostly over this muddle we call the internet.  And while I realize that arguing over the internet is pretty much like bringing a one-legged man to an ass-kicking contest, I feel that I need to at least say something.  Because, anyone who reads this blog who actually knows me knows I always have something to say.

I am America.  Chances are, I'm more American than a good many people who decry that we speak English in this country.  I am a healthy blend of Korean and American, and while I only speak English, I come from a proud line of people.  I am a third generation soldier.  My Mission Oriented Specialty (MOS) was communications and signal.  I saw combat in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Africa.  My father began as a TOW Gunner, and later switched to being a bio-medical technician.  My grand father was field artillery.  For all I know, if I'm ever blessed with having children, they might join the military and see combat as well.

My mother is Korean.  She married my father, without knowing hardly any English and immigrated here, became a citizen of America, and has lived here longer than I've been alive.  She didn't accept any hand-outs, she didn't just decide to remain content with being a soldier's wife.  She has owned her own small businesses ranging from an ice cream shop, to an alterations shop, to a liqour store, and is now planning on becoming a landlord.  And she has been successful at each venue she ever tried, all without any proper education.  Because she believed in the ideal that in America if you work hard, seize the opportunities when you see them, and not get discouraged, a person can be successful here in America.

Yes, officially America is an English speaking country.  But America is also unique for encouraging other people from different countries and melting with our English speaking core to create something that many other countries don't have.  We're diverse.  And it was our diversity that made America the greatest country in the world.  Our tagline was the land of opportunity, and it was great global marketing.  So why now do our "English speaking purists" want to take that which made us so great?  Okay, I firmly believe that immigrants who want to live in America should go through the process of naturalization, and get a green card.  I firmly believe that we also have the right to deny people access to America if they're illegals.  But to say that everyone in America, legal or not should be forced to speak English is a bit much.

My friends are a diverse group of people.  They reflect America.  Yes, most of them are Caucasian, many of them only speak English.  Some of them can speak Spanish, one or two of them can speak other languages.  I have a few Latino friends, some of them speak Spanish.  I have a few Black friends, and they speak English.  But should I expect them to speak some sort of African language?  Of course not.  But do I expect them to be ashamed of their heritage and force them to speak only said African language?  No.  That's the mark of bigotry.

America isn't America because of the language that we speak, nor by the color of our skin.  You can find America in the way we treat each other.  You can see America when the sun rises and you're not afraid to wake up in the morning, or the crack of noon.  You can see America in the hearts of your children.  You can feel America just hanging out with your friends and acting like idiots for the sheer fact that with your friends you can act like complete idiots, and that okay.  America is what you make of it, and by limiting America based on the language you speak, you also limit the potential of American life itself.  And by doing that, you label yourself as the very essence of ignorance.

If America was concerned about keeping its original identity, perhaps we should all wear bear hides, and live in teepees or wigwams, or adobe huts, or whatever it was that the Natives lived in before the English and the rest of Europe came over.  I'm sure it was the Natives fault for being on the "Old World's" land before they got there.  But such as it is.

America is beautiful, so please... let's not mar its image with narrow-mindedness.  Enough damage has been done to this teenager of a country.  Let's allow her to grow up in a nurtured environment and see what she can become when she grows up into full womanhood.  Will she be a beautiful country that everyone will once again admire, or will she become a spiteful defeated wilted flower who will end up hating everything.  We have to help decide that.