Speaking about bilingual education at a town hall meeting in Powder Springs, Georgia on Tuesday, Obama told the crowd he is embarrassed that more Americans don't speak European languages. Salon:Now, I agree that immigrants should learn English. I agree with that. But understand this. Instead of worrying about whether immigrants can learn English -- they'll learn English -- you need to make sure your child can speak Spanish. You should be thinking about, how can your child become bilingual? We should have every child speaking more than one language.
You know, it's embarrassing when Europeans come over here, they all speak English, they speak French, they speak German. And then we go over to Europe, and all we can say [is], "Merci beaucoup." Right?
How can Obama effectively lead a country that embarrasses him? Photo credit: Reuters, Jonathan Ernst
Hat tip: Tom McGuire
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4 comments:
Bill Cosby used to do a bit about this topic. However, he said Americans shouldn't be embarrassed because European nations are in such close proximity. It's like I can speak Nebraskan or Texan or Mid-Atlantic. I feel confident that I can go to the Bronx and be understood. I certainly hope Obama's act starts to wear thin for the nation.
Obama makes me want to puke. I wish this man would find a nice socialist country he does want to embrace and be president of that country-and take that mean faced wife of his with him.
I feel vaguely nauseous for having embarrassed the messiah. I can only hope that when he ascends to his throne that he can find it in his heart to forgive me.
This is dated given that this is September, but I couldn't help but be struck by the anti-intellectualism in these posts. Granted, given the conservative love affair with Sarah Palin, the beau idyll for anti-intellectualism, curiosity, depth, and advanced education of any kind, this hardly stuns me. And yet, Sen. Obama had a point: in a globalized society such as ours, it makes great sense for people to learn another language. I'm 29, and I'm learning Spanish and Chinese. I feel it not only adds something to my life, but makes for a competitive candidate for most white-collar positions. To bash Obama for telling the truth hardly hurts Obama--just the bashers.
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