Also note that they managed to install Spanish as a de-facto second state language in CA and, I guess, in other border states.
Compare to the majority of Ukrainians who voted for Yanukovich. They do not want to be prohibited from speaking Russian - many of them are not that young to pick up the textbooks and study a language that doesn't gain them anything in work or life. What would you say if the US President announces that starting tomorrow you are required to speak Swahili instead of English? Will you happily sign up for the language courses - or, perhaps, you will question the order?
Unfortunately, language wars are not that rare. Look at Quebec. The dominant language there is French; Canada is officially bilingual; however Quebec goes out of their way to exterminate English. In Quebec a store owner can be fined for having a sign in English. This is done by the Parti Québécois to promote separatism; the politicians want to have their personal country to rule.
No, language wars are not rare at all . . . making me wonder, why do we want to restrict Spanish in California, again?
There is no language war in Ukraine, it’s rather cultural. The “language question” is just a convenient wrap for other grievances. Nobody is required to SPEAK Ukrainian, only understand and use it in official business. Besides, everybody born in Ukraine studied Ukrainian in school, so it is a non-issue for natives. It is a problem for pro-Russian folks still dreaming of all-mighty USSR.