spamrant

I got this as a spam message this morning. Commentary follows:

Every time you have to dial 1 for English, you can thank these people, who appear to looking out for their political careers, not their country. But, then, what's new no matter what political party they are from.

TAKE A FEW MOMENTS AND READ HIS LETTER.T THESE ARE STRONG, POWERFUL AND COURAGEOUS WORDS

AND READ WHAT LINCOLN HAD TO SAY AT THE END.

WOW!

33 Senators Voted Against English as America's Official Language on June 6, 2007. On Wed. 6 June 2007 23:35:23 - 0500 Colonel Harry Riley, USA, Ret.
Wrote:

Senators:

Your vote against an amendment to the immigration Bill 1348......to make English America's official language is astounding. On D-Day, no less, when we honor those that sacrificed in order to secure the bedrock, character and principles of America, I can only surmise your vote reflects a loyalty to illegal aliens. I don't much care where you come from. What your religion is. Whether you're black, white, or some other color

......male or female......Democrat, Republican or Independent....... But I do care when you are a United States Senator representing Citizens of America....and
Vote against English as the official language o f the United States.

Your vote reflects Betrayal. Political Surrender. V iolates Your Pledge of Allegiance. Dishonors historical principle. Rejects Patriotism. Borders
On traitorous action and, in my opinion, makes you unfit to serve as a United States Senator...impeachment... Recall........Or other appropriate action is warranted or worse.

Four of you voting against English as America's Official Language are Presidential Candidates: Senator Biden, Senator Clinton, Senator Dodd and Senator Obama.

Four Senators vying to lead America, but won't or Don't have the courage to cast a vote in favor of 'English' as America's Official Language when 91% of American Citizens want English officially designated as our language.

This i s the second time in the last several months this list of Senators have disgraced themselves as 'policital Hacks'...... Unworthy as Senators and certainly unqualified to serve as President of the United States.

If America is as angry as I am, you will realize a backlash so stunning it will literally 'rock you out of your panties'......... And preferably totally out of the United States Senate.

The entire immigration bill is a farce... Your action only confirms this really isn't about America.....it is about self-serving politics......despicable at best. It has been said:

'Never Argue with an Idiot....They'll drag you down to their level!'

The following Senators voted against making English the official language
Of America:

Akaka (D-HI)
Bayh (D-IN)
Biden (D-DE) (Wants to be President)
Bingaman (D-NM)
Boxer (D-CA)
Cantwell (D-WA)
Clinton (D-NY) (Wants to be President)
Dayton (D-MN)
Dodd (D- MN) wants to be president
Domenici (R-NM) coward. Protecting his senate seat
Durbin (D-IL)
Feingold (D-win) - not unusual for him
Feinstein (D-ca)
Harkin (D-IA)
Inouye (D-hi)
Jeffords (I-VT)
Kennedy - (D-ma)
Kerry (D-ma) (tried to be president)
Kohl (D-WI))
Lautenberg (D-NJ)
Leahy (D-VT)
Levin (D-MI)
Lieberman (I-CT) Disappointment here.....
Menendez (D-NJ)
Mikulski (D-MD)
Murray (D-WA)
Obama (D-IL) (Wants to be President)
Reed (D-RI)
Reid (D-NV) Senate Majority Leader
As Lazar (D-CO)
Sarbanes (D-MD)
Schumer (D-NY)
Stabe now (D-M

PRESIDENT ABRAHAM LINCOLN
'Congressmen who willfully take actions during wartime that damage morale and undermine the military are saboteurs and should be arrested, exiled or Hanged!!!

I'm not convinced Lincoln punctuated his quote with three exclamation points, but let's get down to the serious issues. As I think my family might read this blog now, I'll explain simply, rationally, and finally, why English as a mandatory language is bad ol' thinking for the USofA, in as few sentences as possible.

Making the US a monolinguistic culture, while philosophically against the spirit of mind that founded the country (with the notable exception of our domestic policy regarding the aborigines), is also a damn fool decision sociologically, politically, and educationally; and the great thrust by dumbasses (above) to demand an unquestioned reign of English (going so far, if you'll notice, as to imply charges of treachery for voting against the bill in question) is a sociological result of a flawed educational system and a polluted political atmosphere regarding America's position in world politics. As a Pennsylvanian, I have no particular need to learn a foreign language, even Spanish and German are rarely spoken in my area. As a 21st century boy, however, a decent language program in middle and high school would've been a great asset to me in the future. LEMME EXPRAIN:

The brain works like this: the number of brain cells don't really matter all that much as compared to the synaptic connections you make between respective cells. The way your brain's wired is more important than the number of gears it has, ya dig? Every time you learn something new, you create a new pathway in your brain. The more pathways you create, the easier it is for you to learn in the future, think in abstract terms, philosophize, create, converse about heady topics, etc. Learning a language is a wonderful way to take advantage of this greymatter radio tuner we all 've: when you learn a different language, you have multiple pathways for each word, and your understanding of grammar is greatly complexified, since you understand communication from two vantage points, so to speak. (It should be mentioned that I envy with all my Downey-being the Swiss, who've three national languages.)

Now of course there are numerous historical examples of education and the ability to be education doing wonders for the people. In England, for example, it served as a germ for the major advent of the middle class and the modern age. In the Victorian age, the aristocracy, genetically superior inbred as they were, bestowed the gift of state-mandated education on the people, as well as a greater abundance of nutritious food (such as milk). They thought, "Why not? We're inherantly superior, why not give'm a bit of fun, teach'em a bit about the world?" Of course history has shown that inbreeding with former royalty isn't as good for an upstanding model of a citizen as a good book of logic. But let's get back to our main argument.

I've established that learning a foreign language, on a biological level, makes you latently smarter. A bloke who knows two languages can learn a third a lot easier than a bloke who knows just one to learn Number Two, especially if s/he's an adult. Those synaptic pathways tend to set into place after so many years, after all.

So: why in the world would an American need to know a foreign language? In this day and age? The only country that borders us to the north speaks English, except for one (trecherous?) province. We're building a wall along our southern border, so whatever people live down there will soon be as forgotten as Mille-Vanille. The answer is that, while the vast majority of the country will forever live inside America's borders, all of us need to be prepared for the economic reality that's been kicking in for the past several years. America is largely an import country now, and the biggest proponent of globalization. China, Latin America, Japan, Arabia--most of the stuff we don't eat comes from these places and, should you decide to do anything in the way of a career one day, you're almost guaranteed to have to understand the inner workings of economics and trade if you want to have any sort of grasp on the way life in America changes or will change. You don't NEED to know, of course, but then you'll be left to wonder at what the god of gasoline is so angry about that he keeps raising those prices. And the single most important reason for understanding the world is, of course, so you can make an informed vote and help drag this country out of the bog it's let itself be dragged in.

So now I've gone and established--on philosophical evidence, mind you, but still, I think sound--that learning foreign languages is 1) good for your brain and 2) good for your well-being, job, and understanding of the modern world at large, and the future of the great nation. So just one last thing, I think.

America, being so damn big and powerful, is at a disadvantage, educationally speaking. Her kids grow up learning about the history of America, foreign influences upon which are largely centered around England. In middle and high school I didn't learning anything substantial about the French Revolution, World War I, the Kyoto Protocol, or any number of rather important events of international history, recent or otherwise. The idea here is that American kids are exposed to a collection of information that leans perhaps a bit towards the self-important side. Left to simmer, this information could lead an extreme-minded person to two conclusions: 1) that their education sucked that they need to experience the world as much as they can through books or rampant vacationing, or 2) that their education described an America that solved every problem, ever anomaly, it ever encountered, and that if there are domestic anomalies still extant, they oughta be taken care of. Depending on the person's inclination, strange cultures or languages can fit this bill, and so those things are put on the list of things to be done away with.

There are a few things we could do to solve this deficiency, but I've really had no faith in the education system for some years now, so I think we oughta just dismantle the whole system and rebuild it from the ground up. We'll include revised and competant foreign language programs--Spanish, French, Japanese, Chinese, Navajo, whatever--it'll create more jobs and mold mentally healthier students. We'll include more advanced classes at the high school level, including philosophy, logic, and the like. Students in the 19th century were doing it, so we're easily capable of it, so long as teachers are allowed to fail students without fear of reprimand or lawsuit or whatever it is that gets teachers to pass unprepared students these days. And, in very little time, I suppose the world will have been made a better place, thanks to good education and foreign languages. Thank you New York good night.