By now I'm sure you have seen Barack Obama's shameless panderfest sneering at anyone in America who is exclusively English speaking....i.e. "You must learn Spanish and YOU WILL LIKE IT!"
http://video.google.com/videosearch?q=obama+learn+spanish&hl=en&sitesearch
Perhaps the Harvard law grad forgot that maybe a few people take pride in the English language....you know, even some people in EUROPE....like, the English!
This is from Prime Minister Gordon Brown's website http://www.number10.gov.uk/output/Page14289.asp
http://video.google.com/videosearch?q=%22Gordon+Brown%22english+language%22&hl=en&sitesearch=#
English - The World's language
17 January 2008
The Prime Minister has announced a boost to English language learning, teaching and training facilities for people throughout the world.
The English language, like football and other sports, began here and has spread to every corner of the globe. Today more than a billion people speak English. It is becoming the world's language: the language of the internet, of business, of international flight - the pathway of global communication and global access to knowledge. And it has become the vehicle for hundreds of millions of people of all countries to connect with each other, in countless ways. Indeed, English is much more than a language: it is a bridge across borders and cultures, a source of unity in a rapidly changing world.
English does not make us all the same - nor should it, for we honour who we distinctly are. But it makes it possible for us to speak to each other, to better understand each other. And so it is a powerful force not just for economics, business and trade, but for mutual respect and progress. I don't know how many times I've been told by people in every continent I have visited of the power of the English language to break down barriers to understanding.
For Britain, this is not a matter of narrow national pride. It is in part an accident of history - a wave of knowledge and commerce, which gathered even greater global force in the post-war era, that gave the world the English language.
And government after government around the world is recognising the role of English - ensuring it is taught at primary level as a core skill. In total, 2 billion people worldwide will be learning or teaching English by 2020. Today 350 million people speak English in India and another 300 million in China, with more children learning English in Chinese schools than in British schools. And in continents and countries where there are varied languages and dialects, often the people speak with each other in English - their shared language.
But there are millions of people in every continent who are still denied this chance to learn English - prevented from enjoying many of the benefits of the internet, commerce and culture. And I believe that no one - however poor, however distant - should be denied the opportunity that the English language provides. So I want Britain to make a new gift to the world - pledging to help and support anyone, whatever their circumstances, to have access to the tools they need to learn or to teach English. And my plan is that in the next 10 years at least 1 billion more people in the villages, towns and cities of every continent will have access to resources, materials and qualifications from the UK.
This week, during my visit to China and India, we will start to make our new commitment a reality. I want this to be a world wide endeavour of private and public sectors working together - with broadcasters, telecom companies, publishers, universities, colleges and schools playing their part in opening up English language opportunities to millions.
So let's get this one right. A left of center British politician endorses making English the world's language while Barack Obama thinks we ought to be embarrassed about our native tongue.
And who cares about the U.K., anyway, since they have only been our most reliable ally over the past century and they are only the source of our original culture in this nation......we can find other people to suddenly like us, eh?
That's ok...maybe Obama doesn't think the U.K. is part of "Europe" .......can we get Gordon Brown nominated for the Democrats... he's a more patriotic American than the guy that they are running!
