Dreaming Paris

People want to come to the U.S. I think that's cool. I do wonder why they can't do it legally, though. Are our immigration laws really that tough? If so, why? If not, why so many illegals? Anyway, Deck Deckert writes this over on his blog:

I've gotten several anti-immigration e-mails lately from friends, both right and left -- excuse me, anti-'illegal' immigration. Sometimes I sigh and let them go unanswered; sometimes I tell them: We are a nation of immigrants. We first stole the country from the Native Americans who were here before us. Now we want to shut the door and tell no one else they can come in, not even the Mexicans that we stole Texas from. Doesn't seem fair, does it?

It does bother me, though, when they don't learn English, and then businesses limit who they hire based on whether or not you're bilingual. I think that's wrong. Why am I discriminated against for a job because I can't speak Spanish? On the other hand, I don't have a problem with mom and pop businesses that cater specifically to a particular language speaking clientele, a place where you know that if you go there, you might be the odd one out. It adds to the diversity of the city and provides cultural oases, places where you can experience the richness of another culture. But when it comes to the mainstream stores, hello? This is America, we speak American, and if you want to live here, but don't want to learn American, why should we bend over for you? I know that things change. I know that languages move from one area to another as people migrate, but that was back when borders were more likely to be fluid as well, when people were still trying to conquer each other. I know that there are still people in power who would like to do some conquering, but in general, that's a no-no in today's world. Our boundaries are fairly well set, and we've decided what languages go where. But then my mind throws up countries like Switzerland and Belgium, or the province of Quebec in Canada. So maybe places like Florida, California, Texas, etc. will just have to suck it up and give in to the inevitable and become like those places where two or more languages flow interchangeably, which is what's obviously happening anyway. But I don't like it. I'm American. I speak American. I live in America. I don't want to learn Spanish, I want to learn French. Why should I have to learn Spanish to work in my own country? I guess that's what I get for choosing to live in Florida, eh?