Well, Dale and others, here's a volatile little rant to
get ya'll goin' for da weekend....(sic)
Has political correctness gone so far that we Americans (US
citizens- I'll catch hell for that one) have to beat OURSELVES
up over it?...some years ago, we were a pretty autonomous nation.
Oh, sure, we fought a war now and then, but it was supposedly
to protect "our" way of life. Against the "enemy"--- whoever that
is/was/could have been. We were the model of freedom and affluence.
And we spoke English. There was even talk (recently revived) of
making it a "national language", which we don't really have,
at least legally. We represented one of the largest land masses
on the planet with a common language, and were the largest
consumer of goods, and the largest producer. Immigrants flocked
to the US, trying (successfully) to not only learn English, but
to prove (again successfully) that they had something to offer
and that they WANTED to be AMERICANS. I know. My family was
representative of TWO non-English-speaking groups, Italians and
Germans. Somehow, they thought that living in an affluent,
upwardly mobile, freedom-of-speech-and-press nation that would
grant them citizenship in trade for their hard work and talents
was worth moving halfway 'round the globe for.....Pity that we
forget this so soon- especially since 90 years later, one of them
is still alive to see what the "boomers" have accomplished.
We accepted folks of all color eventually, after a few rough
spots (none as rough as facist Italy) and in one short lifetime
the folks fell off the boat, got a job, bought land, built a
life, became active in politics, art, social events, etc.....
try THAT in Germany or Japan even today. Oh, by the way, I failed
to mention that they learned to speak and even read and write
IN ENGLISH.....the first generation to do so, I might add....
This country offered more freedom to people of different languages
and ethnicity, even in the days of segregation, than most countries
do TODAY. Try being a woman and working in the middle east,
or being Italian and starting a grocery store in Japan.
Somehow, only history will explain, these hard working folks of
different languages and ethnicities built the greatest free nation
in the world. Unfortunately, they produced a group of folks
now known as the "boomers"....born into affluence (in those days
plumbing was affluence), they were spoon fed, coddled, given
everything their parents didn't have, educated in universities,
(half of their parents didn't finish high school), air conditioned,
innoculated against disease, etc......
Somehow, when these folks grew up, they decided that this country
that had allowed them affluence never imagined was 'bad'...they
became politicians and educators, and decided that we were a
'repressive' nation, and evil.....as they came to power politically
and in education (lots of them were educated as a result of
avoiding military service) they turned on the very nation that
provided them with their lifestyle and very existence. They have
gradually made our young ashamed to be Americans. They teach
that all cultures are equally valid (obviously, their parents
didn't think so when they fled to the US in hardship) and they
teach about the "evils" that "we" have done to others, the environment,
women, etc. And yes, they teach my 8 year old daughter.
I remember when a Japanese fellow was asked in an interview (some
years back) why they learn English in Japanese schools. He
replied, "because English is the language of money".......
I'm glad ol' man Delesandri didn't live to see the nineties.....
BTW, I studied German and Spanish. Think I'll stick with
English for a while. :) :)
73, Walt Delesandri, NOT a hyphenated American.
On
Sat,
17
Apr
1999, Dale L. Martin wrote:
>
> Hang on a minute.
>
> Just exactly how many times a day, week, month, do any of us NEED
> to use another language?
>
> It's because of necessity and proximity that other countries
> environs are multi-lingual. Here in the U.S., we can go hundreds
> and hundreds of miles and still find english spoken by 99 percent
> of the population. In Europe you can drive a couple of hours and
> you are in need of an interpreter.
>
> Sure, we should know the language of those we are dealing with on
> a business level, but if our day-to-day lives don't involve
> second, third, etc., language opportunities, then what? Where's
> the point?
>
> As ham radio operators, we have the unique opportunity to be able
> to learn to speak not just a couple of languages, but literally
> hundreds of languages and dialects. Do we? No. Why? 99.9-100
> percent of our operating is done in english. That's not
> necessarily a bad thing. After all, for a foreign ham, ham radio
> may be his/her opportunity to learn english.
>
> As far as some people having better english grammar than some
> Americans, so what? There are many Americans who have better and
> worse grammar than other Americans--I know my grammar needs work.
> You can find all sorts of opportunities for the red pen in this
> little dissertation.
>
> Listen to the language of some of the television and radio
> programs. Even the local TV news shows have some of the worst
> grammar I've ever heard.
>
> Don't forget that there's someone out there that can do CW faster
> and better than you and me. That doesn't mean that our CW speed
> or ability is necessarily lacking, though--thank goodness for
> Ten-Tec radios that make CW improvement easier and more fun.
>
> It's the same with grammar: Some people are better at it than
> others, American and non-American.
>
> 73,
> dale, kg5u
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: seweber@netnitco.net <seweber@netnitco.net>
> To: Thos. Wade Patton <wadepatton@mindspring.com>
> Cc: tentec@contesting.com <tentec@contesting.com>
To: <tentec@contesting.com>
> Date: Saturday, April 17, 1999 1:01 AM
> Subject: RE: [TenTec] TenTec/ Harley/beverages
>
>
> >
> >WARNING: BAD JOKE ALERT!!!!
> >
> >Q. What do you call a person who speaks three languages?
> >A. Trilingual.
> >
> >Q. What do you call a person who speaks two languages?
> >A. Bilingual.
> >
> >Q. What do you call a person who speaks one language?
> >A. American,
> >
> >
> >>EXACTLY. I have studied some languages (Latin, German). It is
> a humbling
> >>experience, especially when you learn that the rest of the
> developed world
> >>is bilingual (educated folks are multi-lingual). I find it
> embarrassing
> >>not to be able to accurately and effectively use my own native
> tongue.
> >>Many foreigners have better grammar than American college
> students. This
> >>is pitiful.
> >>
> >
> >Sad but true
> >
> >73 de KD9BO
> >
> >Steve Weber
> >
> >
> >I want to know how God created the world.
> >I am not interested in this or that phenomenon,
> >in the spectrum of this or that element.
> >I want to know His thoughts; the rest are details.
> >
> > --Albert Einstein--
> >
> >
> >
> >--
> >FAQ on WWW:
> http://www.contesting.com/tentecfaq.htm
> >Submissions: tentec@contesting.com
> >Administrative requests: tentec-REQUEST@contesting.com
> >Problems: owner-tentec@contesting.com
> >Search:
> http://www.contesting.com/km9p/search.htm
> >
> >
>
>
>
> --
> FAQ on WWW: http://www.contesting.com/tentecfaq.htm
> Submissions: tentec@contesting.com
> Administrative requests: tentec-REQUEST@contesting.com
> Problems: owner-tentec@contesting.com
> Search: http://www.contesting.com/km9p/search.htm
>
--
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