The other day I was in the line at the grocery store and I heard the person in front of me asking for ten dollars cash back in English. Look- I'm not a racist, but I was slightly offended that the person in front of me hadn't taken the time to learn how to talk about money in Spanish. I mean, here we live in a school district where 70% of the population is Hispanic, and a county that has a clear Spanish-speaking majority, and some people can't even buy groceries using the language of the land. It's high time that we make Spanish the official language of los Estados Unidos.
It's also time we got serious about our immigration policy. Let's say one night un ladron (that's a robber for all of you gringos out there) broke into your house. It's a nice house with a full pantry and so the thief decides he'd like to stay awhile. When you awake the next morning and complain, he sends you to live in the garage. It turns out that he's a pretty industrious robber, and pretty soon he fills your house with some nice furnishings of his own- a big plasma screen TV, a remodeled kitchen, even a new Mercedez. The trouble is, with the new car and boat, there isn't much room for you in the garage anymore. It's time to send the encroacher back to his native land- Europe.
Some mornings, when it is my turn to drop the kids off at school, I see a sign proclaiming "this is a gun free zone." Let me tell you that this doesn't do much to reassure me. If you have to say it, it probably isn't so. This same principle applies to legislating an official language for the country. If you have to say it, it probably isn't so.
Do Hispanic immigrants spell doom for our borders, language, and culture? I hope not, because if they do, it is probably too late to do anything about it. We've simply had a porous border for too long. Our community is one that now has a Hispanic majority. Can we send them all home? By now, most of them are here legally. Many of our neighbors are Latino, and they seem like good hardworking citizens. Most of them value their families and religion. Most of them speak English. In fact, almost all second-generation immigrants speak English.
Ultimately, borders are really just lines on a map. We draw them, we fight over them because it is in our economic self interest.
Shared language is important, but I notice that most businesses are more than willing to hire bilingual employees if they see a profit in it.
Culture is in constant shift anyway. Can anyone argue that we have the same culture that we had in 1776 anyway? Do we have the same culture in rural Eastern Washington that exists in Savannah, Georgia? Culture isn't static, it is fluid- we've always borrowed from other cultures in an evolution from one generation to the next.
During my mission to Guatemala, I saw first hand the poverty that most immigrants are trying to escape. Let me tell you that I would do almost anything to not raise my children in those circumstances. I've heard the arguments for enforcing harsher anti-immigration policies. These arguments center around economics and politics. Mostly politics. In fact, it seems like the discussion always becomes a little more urgent during an election cycle. I'm more interested in hearing an argument based on values. Values such as faith, hope, and charity.
I think Hispanics are here to stay. And I'd like for us all to be friends.
