“I am a jelly donut"

(Click for larger version of the strip, Tom's latest)
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I had no idea the same “Tom Tomorrow” I had been enjoying in our own City Weekly was such a national recognized and syndicated cartoonist. His strips have always been a highlight, and usually the first thing I turn to when I get a new issue. Both he and Dennis Baron (clearly a linguistic authority, or at least a favored son, or both, judging by his multiple appearances this semester) do a great job of tearing down the great silliness that is the movement for nationalizing English here in America, but the issue does goes much deeper. Xenophobia and racism are at its core, not saving pennies on translating signs or tax forms. It’s an unfortunate truth. Many hide behind banners of patriotism merely to obscure their true intent, “keeping America for Americans.” What does that even mean?

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“[English] must be the lingua franca of civic life”

Miller makes a compelling case for making English the official language of the ballot box. But beyond his implied call to end bilingual ballots and voting materials, he does nothing to back the broader claim that English “must be the lingua franca of civic life.” The only thing his article does persuade me to support is more intelligent, calculated use of government funding to support those to whom English is a second language in the task of understanding and navigating the political process. To me, that is money well spent.

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“No language has ever held as strong a position in the world today” (as English does)

As I read the article “Habla Español? Does Spanish Threaten American English?” I couldn’t help but wonder what intelligent, reasonable person could even begin to oppose or decry the proliferation of bilingual Americans? On the contrary, we should be proud, and encouraging of all Americans--our youth in particular--in learning and using multiple languages. America is the “melting pot”, remember? America is the strongest and most powerful nation on the planet. Don’t we want to stay that way? Don’t we remember how we got here?

America was forged and founded on diversity. It is our greatest strength, and we cannot allow xenophobia or racism to dilute that. English is the international language of business, and I am proud (and fortunate) to speak it. But countries such as India, China, and the ever growing and solidifying European Union are starting to show America that its long run at the top may be over. We truly are in a “global economy” now; it’s not just a marketing buzzword anymore. The future of our country rests in working with these countries (and others) for mutual benefit. The key to this happening is open acceptance of the different strengths and insight each country brings to the table. To leverage those strengths, we will need to communicate. We will need a generation of young, agile minds who are bilingual, or even multilingual. It’s just that simple.

Why would we ever close our minds and our schools to the world? We don’t live here by ourselves, and we never could anyway. America is dependent on the production, and peoples of other countries. Let’s keep talking to them, in English, in Spanish, in Chinese, in “human”.