A Comment About

Obama’s Language Mandate: Why It Feels Like Hungarian to Me

August 3, 2008 - 12:00 am - by Mary Grabar
Night Owl
2008-08-05 01:03:27

“Humans would be better off if we could communicate with each other using a single language. The energy we spend learning other languages, avoiding cultural mistakes, printing duplicate owner’s manuals, and writing computer translators would be better spent making the world a better place.”

Well said. Printing things in multiple languages, time spent listening to voice menus in multiple languages, hiring translators, etc, all cost money. Economically one language makes more sense than many.

It should be obvious that if the world could speak in one tongue, all people would be able to truly understand each other, and maybe have a real shot at “coming together”, as the one-worlders like to gush about. Instead of fostering that concept, we have the elite pushing the “multicultural” agenda, that ultimately only serves to highlight our differences and unwittingly keep the old resentments and prejudices alive. It is a sad reality of human nature that we often distrust and fear that which is different.

The way I see it, the concept of multiculturalism (MC) can be used as an example of how out of touch the elite are from the lives of everyday Americans.

For the elite, MC is going to hear that educated foreign guest speaker at the University, the one with the charming accent and interesting outfit; and then going to have sushi at the latest “in” spot downtown. And when they return home to their gated community or doorman pre-war luxury high-rise, their kids can practice their French with the children of a diplomat from some exotic locale, who speak English better than they do.

For the average guy or gal, MC is driving home from a business trip a few states over, and having your car beak down in a strange neighborhood, where everyone is talking rapid fire in a language you don’t understand. And some guys in the back keep shaking their heads and laughing disturbingly, every time you ask the mechanic to please explain more slowly what’s wrong, and how much it will cost to fix. ;)