Refusing to Assimilate

Surprise, surprise. Someone suggests a way to make it easier for Spanish speaking immigrants to assimilate, and the "Latin Community" gets angry. According to foxnews.com, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger was quoted Wednesday night at the annual convention of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists as saying, "You've got to turn off the Spanish television set...You're just forced to speak English, and that just makes you learn the language faster." He was attacked, of course, by California Democrats and special interest groups, being called "ignorant" and "naive," because, as a spokesperson for Univision, a U.S.-based Spanish-language television network put it, "Spanish-language media helps Hispanics stay connected to their cultural heritage and important public information." Yeah, and puts money in the pockets of...Univision. All of this talk about staying connected to heritage is crap, folks. Look, the Italian and Jewish immigrants of days gone by had no problem staying connected to their heritage despite the lack of Italian or Yiddish programming on the air. In fact, because they didn't have a crutch like a TV station broadcasting in their native tongue, they and their children learned the English language and flourished within a generation. That's part of the reason we don't have street signs and billboards in German, or Polish, or Gaelic. I don't know about you, but if i were to move to Russia, I would not get upset because I couldn't get the local weather broadcast in English. Here's another response reported by Fox: "Francisco Hernandez, an immigration attorney, said there’s nothing wrong with encouraging immigrants to learn English but there’s no need for 'immigrant bashing... We have to remember that Spanish is part of this country’s heritage. There’s nothing wrong with it.'" What a load of crap. Sure, maybe if you go all the way back to 1492, but this isn't about Columbus or the Alamo, this is about being a strong nation united by it's borders, language, and national identity. I have no patience for anyone who tells me that people marching in the streets with Mexican flags and shouting protests in Spanish are just trying to "connect with their heritage." Schwarzenegger critics say that enough isn't done by the government to help immigrants learn English, but I say it's not the government's job to help you learn English, it's the immigrants' responsibility. People from all over the globe come to this country, learn to speak English without the aid of government, and prosper by assimilating into the dominant culture without losing their sense of pride in their own distinct heritage, but by embracing American heritage. Everyone else gets it. Why do Spanish-speaking immigrants feel they should get special treatment? Because they choose not to assimilate. I say leave Arnold alone. After all, he's an immigrant, too, remember?