Latino Population Rising in America
Do you ever mute your television and watch the commercials with no sound? Commercials take on an entirely different feel minus their soundtracks, and often the naked visuals lay the Madison Avenue messages bare, allowing the viewer to see it in its full ridiculousness; like watching a preacher deliver a sermon in his underwear.
And this is the reason, no matter how much the Latino population rises in America, I will never buy the Rosetta Stone language learning system. Have you seen this commercial? The girl is pretty, and her delivery is good, but just mute the sound and listen to her body language and facial expressions. "I'm so completely awesome," she seems to say, "that you could never even imagine yourself fit enough to lick the bottom of my stiletto heels." She is so completely smarmy!
All seriousness aside, I feel great about being multi-lingual. I was not forced to learn Spanish, or any other language, but with the Latino population rising in America like it is, particularly the Hispanic population, the writing on the wall became clear to me. Their population has more than doubled since 1990, and they were responsible for 50% of the total increase in population in the US between 2000 and 2006. If I wanted to increase my effectiveness as a member of society and a citizen of the United States, I would need to learn Spanish. It is exactly the "American" thing to do.
Some people express the opinion that the Latino population rising is a bad thing, but personally, I love it. I find Hispanics and Latinos to be a beautiful people, rich in heritage and culture. To the people that say the Latino increasing population is not good, I say so what? Are you going to try to stop the tide? You can either remain a grumpy old curmudgeon, feeling like your country is being invaded and grasping desperately to hold on to what you have worked so long to acquire, or you can open yourselves up to change, new experiences and new opportunities, and become a richer person for it. And you can start by learning to speak Spanish.
My problem is that languages do not come easily to me. I really struggle trying to learn a new language. It easily takes me twice as long as the average person to become fluent in another language. I love foreign languages, though; I love to listen to them. That may be part of my problem; I get caught up in listening to the beautiful flow of the language and forget to pay attention to what the person is saying. All of the Romance languages are truly beautiful; they are a beautiful way to communicate. Their beauty provided me with the persistence I needed to stick with it.
Now I feel like I belong to an giant club. I'm not left out of the conversation when people are talking in a foreign language. And now I have an enormously marketable skill that I didn't have to spend tens of thousands of dollars or attend years of college to acquire. Compared to all that, learning Spanish or any other language is easy. And I'm not scared at the thought of the Latino population rising, or any other migrating people. America is what it is today because of these beautiful, hard-working immigrants. I will work hard, too, and do my part, so that the American melting pot can stay warm enough to keep on melting.
And this is the reason, no matter how much the Latino population rises in America, I will never buy the Rosetta Stone language learning system. Have you seen this commercial? The girl is pretty, and her delivery is good, but just mute the sound and listen to her body language and facial expressions. "I'm so completely awesome," she seems to say, "that you could never even imagine yourself fit enough to lick the bottom of my stiletto heels." She is so completely smarmy!
All seriousness aside, I feel great about being multi-lingual. I was not forced to learn Spanish, or any other language, but with the Latino population rising in America like it is, particularly the Hispanic population, the writing on the wall became clear to me. Their population has more than doubled since 1990, and they were responsible for 50% of the total increase in population in the US between 2000 and 2006. If I wanted to increase my effectiveness as a member of society and a citizen of the United States, I would need to learn Spanish. It is exactly the "American" thing to do.
Some people express the opinion that the Latino population rising is a bad thing, but personally, I love it. I find Hispanics and Latinos to be a beautiful people, rich in heritage and culture. To the people that say the Latino increasing population is not good, I say so what? Are you going to try to stop the tide? You can either remain a grumpy old curmudgeon, feeling like your country is being invaded and grasping desperately to hold on to what you have worked so long to acquire, or you can open yourselves up to change, new experiences and new opportunities, and become a richer person for it. And you can start by learning to speak Spanish.
My problem is that languages do not come easily to me. I really struggle trying to learn a new language. It easily takes me twice as long as the average person to become fluent in another language. I love foreign languages, though; I love to listen to them. That may be part of my problem; I get caught up in listening to the beautiful flow of the language and forget to pay attention to what the person is saying. All of the Romance languages are truly beautiful; they are a beautiful way to communicate. Their beauty provided me with the persistence I needed to stick with it.
Now I feel like I belong to an giant club. I'm not left out of the conversation when people are talking in a foreign language. And now I have an enormously marketable skill that I didn't have to spend tens of thousands of dollars or attend years of college to acquire. Compared to all that, learning Spanish or any other language is easy. And I'm not scared at the thought of the Latino population rising, or any other migrating people. America is what it is today because of these beautiful, hard-working immigrants. I will work hard, too, and do my part, so that the American melting pot can stay warm enough to keep on melting.
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