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Monday, March 24, 2008

Teaching kids to lose weight... en Espanol!

Check out this ad I saw on TV for childhood obesity prevention, sponsored by the U.S. Government:



Yep. All in Spanish. Here in the United States.

My blood boiled when I saw it.

It brought to mind a particular quote (emphasis mine):
In the first place we should insist that if the immigrant who comes here in good faith becomes an American and assimilates himself to us, he shall be treated on an exact equality with everyone else, for it is an outrage to discriminate against any such man because of creed, or birthplace, or origin. But this is predicated upon the man's becoming in very fact an American, and nothing but an American...There can be no divided allegiance here. Any man who says he is an American, but something else also, isn't an American at all. We have room for but one flag, the American flag, and this excludes the red flag, which symbolizes all wars against liberty and civilization, just as much as it excludes any foreign flag of a nation to which we are hostile... We have room for but one language here, and that is the English language... and we have room for but one sole loyalty and that is a loyalty to the American people.
- Theodore Roosevelt, January 3, 1919

Roosevelt also told the Kansas City Star in 1918 that "Every immigrant who comes here should be required within five years to learn English or to leave the country... English should be the only language taught or used in the public schools."

What a switch, huh? Not only is English not the national language, but it isn't the only language taught in our schools, and we have ads commissioned by our own government in Spanish.

Also, does anyone think that this does Spanish-speaking children any favors? Coddling them won't help them assimilate. It's fine for them to grow up here in the U.S. speaking Spanish, but if we expect them to be able to grow up as productive adults, then they need to learn English. And that isn't going to happen if we're accomodating them with Spanish at every turn.

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