just a silly question.
Shouldn’t we emulate countries or cultures that we admire?
I don’t see a whole lot worthy of praise coming from the Middle East. They really have nothing worthwhile that makes any civilized man say “Golly, that sure is neat. I wish my country/culture had something like that”. I can point to some Asian, Hindi and even Russian cultural aspects that are praiseworthy. Islamic - not so much.
We are rushing to embrace Spanish in our schools. Why? Because every spanish speaking country on the globe is over-ran with ignorance, out of control reproduction, drugs, thugs, corruption and suppression of the few good men. What about those trait is something we wish to incorporate into our culture? What is there to admire about Mexico and every other 3rd world Banana Republic? Because they are over-ran with people, each a monument to ignorance; isn’t a reason to embrace them.
How about teaching languages from countries that are moving FORWARD, instead of dragging themselves (and us) backward? How about teaching our students Chinese, Japanese, Hindi or even Russian? Unless I need to speak to my gardener, or order food in a fast food restaurant; the need for Spanish just isn’t there.
But, if I need to speak to a doctor, programmer, engineer, chemist or other professional in their native language ... the odds are “sure as hell” that this individual won’t likely be a native spanish speaker.
On your first point, you are mistaken. Most Spanish-speaking countries have good literacy rates, literacy being the most common international indicator of education. (Source: CIA World Factbook)
| Argentina | 98% |
| Bolivia | 95.7% |
| Chile | 95.7% |
| Colombia | 90.4% |
| Costa Rica | 94.9% |
| Cuba | 99.8% |
| Ecuador | 93.2% |
| Mexico | 93.4% |
|---|---|
| Panama | 91.9% |
| Paraguay | 94%% |
| Spain | 97.7% |
| United States | 99% |
On your second point, you are mistaken, because most Spanish-speaking countries are right around or below the world average fertility rate, which is only slightly above replacement; and many of them are, like the United States, actually below replacement. (Replacement=2.11)
| Ecuador | 2.58% |
| Panama | 2.56 |
| World Average | 2.55 |
|---|---|
| Venezuela | 2.55 |
| Peru | 2.51 |
| Argentina | 2.25 |
| Colombia | 2.22 |
| Mexico | 2.21 |
| Uruguay | 2.12 |
| Costa Rica | 2.10 |
| United States | 2.05 |
| Chile | 1.94 |
| Puerto Rico | 1.83 |
| Cuba | 1.49 |
| Spain | 1.41 |
On your third point --- drugs--- I wouldn't want to boast much as an American, since, listed next to the Spanish-speaking countries, the U.S. is comparable in addiction to illgal drugs, and in fact exceeds them in addiction to pharmceuticals --- the main source of addiction in the orld toa. industry.
And lastly: thugs and corruption?
Gangs, Obamunists, and look: everything they touch turns to Chicago. Or Detroit. Q.E.D.
Replacement paragraph:
On your third point --- drugs--- I wouldn't want to boast much as an American, since, listed next to the Spanish-speaking countries, the U.S. is comparable in addiction to illegal drugs, and in fact exceeds them in addiction to pharmaceuticals --- the main source of addiction in the world being the pharmaceutical industry.