It's A No-Brainer -Two Languages Are Better Than One
(Mensaje se repite en Español)
The strength of the United States is that it has never been a homogeneous culture, but rather continues to redefine its unique and highly successful world view by taking that which exists already and generously mixes it with the contributions of the latest to immigrate here. While one would logically think that the immigrant and their culture and language would be embraced as a necessary source and part of this continuing American pragmatic vitality, both the immigrant and native American in the past have continued to circle their respective wagons trying to "protect" who they are, instead of what they both might become.
Having spent a great deal of time in Europe, I have seen first hand the advantages of bi or multlingualism. Contrary to how it is for the most part treated here, it is not a disease that should be "phased out." Rather, both Anglos and Latinos would benefit significantly from walking a linguistic mile in the others shoes, not just in appreciation of the other's language, but also in appreciation of their own. More than mastery of another language as part of an additive model of language acquisition, both Anglo and Latino would see the unique color that each language offers that somehow is lost in translation.
When I speak Spanish to Latinos that I encounter on a daily basis