Governator Channels TR's Immigrant View

If, like John Edwards, you believe in channeling, then you might get the impression that California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is channeling Teddy Roosevelt, and without knowing it, he is channeling my mother as well. While few criticized Roosevelt for his outspoken opinion that immigrants who do not learn English were not really Americans, Schwarzenegger has come under fire from Spanish language journalists and Democrats for urging immigrants to avoid Spanish language media and immerse themselves in English to learn the language faster. Learning to speak, read, and write in English is critical for a successful life in America, but publicly stating so has become politically incorrect.

This issue has personal importance in my life, as my mother, who emigrated from Germany in the 1950s, immersed herself in English media to learn the language, which was required for her naturalization process. She acquired a fondness for American movies and television programs, particularly westerns, and these helped in her assimilation of English. She attended citizenship and government courses and became the most patriotically “American” American I have ever known. She cut all ideological ties to her birthplace and in fact never returned to visit it because she cannot bear to leave America, even temporarily. She passed her fierce loyalty to the United States on to her children, teaching us that service to this country, in any capacity, was the least we could do to show appreciation for the freedoms we are blessed with as Americans. She truly followed Teddy Roosevelt’s advice to immigrants, given many years earlier in 1919 (not 1907, as some sources have erroneously claimed):

In the first place, we should insist that if the immigrant who comes here in good faith becomes an American and assimilates himself to us, he shall be treated on an exact equality with everyone else, for it is an outrage to discriminate against any such man because of creed, or birthplace, or origin.

But this is predicated upon the person's becoming in every facet an American and nothing but an American...There can be no divided allegiance here.

Any man who says he is an American, but something else also, isn't an American at all.

We have room for but one flag, the American flag.

We have room for but one language here, and that is the English language...

…and we have room for but one sole loyalty and that is a loyalty to the American people.

Roosevelt’s remarks did not differ greatly from the statements by Schwarzenegger that attracted media attention yesterday. Fox News reported the “Governator’s” comments on learning English as follows:

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's remarks that immigrants should avoid Spanish-language media if they want to learn English quickly left some Hispanic journalists shaking their heads.

"You've got to turn off the Spanish television set" and stay away from Spanish-language television, books and newspapers, the Republican governor said Wednesday night at the annual convention of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists. "You're just forced to speak English, and that just makes you learn the language faster."

Schwarzenegger, who emigrated to the U.S. from Austria, was responding to a question about how Hispanic students can improve academic performance. The audience included many journalists who work for Spanish-language media outlets.

"I know this sounds odd and this is the politically incorrect thing to say and I'm going to get myself in trouble," he said. "But I know that when I came to this country, I very rarely spoke German to anyone."

Whatever one thinks of Schwarzenegger as a politician, the truth of his message about learning English quickly is undeniable. Language immersion is unquestionably the most effective method for English assimilation or assimilation into any language. Of course, the Spanish-language journalists despised his comments because they fear for their careers. While they claim to offer a public service for Spanish speaking immigrants, they in fact perpetuate poverty and doors closed to social and economic opportunity by providing a crutch that permanently hobbles Spanish-language media users rather than supporting them in their assimilation into American culture. Perhaps that is the key. Unlike Teddy Roosevelt’s vision of immigrants becoming Americans, Spanish-language media accentuate and maintain cultural divides, in essence encouraging immigrants to make America more like their native country than to make their lives conform to America’s cultural history.

Schwarzenegger’s critics responded to his remarks:

"I'm sitting shaking my head not believing that someone would be so naive and out of it that he would say something like that," Alex Nogales, president and CEO of the National Hispanic Media Coalition, said Thursday.

Nogales said immigrants need Spanish-language media to stay informed and "function in this society."

Pilar Marrero, the political editor for the Spanish-language newspaper La Opinion, chuckled at the governor's comments, saying many Hispanics did not have time to learn English.

"They're too busy working," she said.

Alex Nogales and Pilar Marrero are, of course, trying to preserve their media empires built on the Spanish-language enslavement of immigrants. Nogales believes that immigrants need to stay informed and “function in this society” by watching Spanish-language media, yet the opposite is true. To function in this society as a whole, and not just small geographic pockets of other Spanish-speaking immigrants, they must learn English, and English media immersion is an effective way to achieve that goal. Clearly Nogales has a vested interest in downplaying the importance of learning English.

Pillar’s comment that Hispanics have no time to learn English because they are too busy working is also disingenuous and self-serving. I learned a foreign language in an intense immersion program where we were expected to speak that language with our colleagues 24 hours a day, 7 days per week. Immigrants, according to Democrats and President Bush, are working jobs “Americans won’t do,” like picking fruit, washing cars, trimming lawns, and so forth. As an American teen many years ago I worked many such jobs and I can assure Marrero that there is ample opportunity for these workers to practice speaking English with each other while they are in the fields, traveling to and from jobs, or waiting by a Home Depot for selection as day laborers. I never hear them speaking anything but Spanish, and it is not because they have no time, it is because it is easier to speak Spanish than struggle with learning English. They go home at night and watch television, in Spanish, and thus miss the opportunity for vocabulary growth as well as the practice time with English speakers. That has been and continues to be a recipe for economic and social subservience for immigrants, and learning English is the key that will open countless doors for entrepreneurial and educational ventures.

Teddy Roosevelt, a revered American president, would be ridiculed by today’s politically correct Democrats, if their reactions to Schwarzenegger are any indication:

In October, the governor was criticized by Democrats when he said some Mexican immigrants "try to stay Mexican" when they come to the United States and urged them to learn English and U.S. history and "make an effort to become part of America.

This begs the question, why do Democrats want immigrants not to learn English or U.S. history? Perhaps it is because once immigrants learn English and embrace America’s history they are far more likely to become economically independent, more capitalistic, and less reliant on socialist government benefits that rely on poverty and ignorance for program survival. Perhaps it is because when immigrants learn English they can better understand the language of government and law, which is far more complex than conversational English. Perhaps they do not want Hispanics to read the bills being debated in Congress or understand the laws they are expected to obey. Hispanic immigrants should ask themselves why one political party does not want them to become truly American or fluent in English.

My mother, like Schwarzenegger and millions of other legal immigrants immersed themselves in English because they understood that success in American life could only be achieved through learning the language and because they were attracted to the culture, ideals, freedoms, and values of America. They wanted to be Americans first, no hyphenations, no latent loyalties to any other land, and no wishing America were more like their birthplace. Spanish-language media and Democrats may attack Schwarzenegger for espousing these ideas, but in doing so they are merely exposing an ugly and selfish desire to maintain a class of immigrants with little hope of upward mobility because they lack English language skills. This approach by Spanish media and Democrats may be good for their bank accounts and ballot boxes, but it is harmful for Hispanic immigrants.

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Arnold Schwarzenegger, English Immersion, Theodore Roosevelt, Immigration, Spanish Language Media, Assimilation, English as Official Language, Democrats

Separation of Cinema and State Needed

Americans worship celebrity. That three word sentence might be common knowledge, but it should also be a warning sign, particularly when it comes to politics and whom we choose to lead us. The ACLU and many other groups have worked tirelessly to erect a formidable wall separating church and state, but perhaps a more useful effort might be to create more separation between cinema and state.

I am concerned about the nearly unanimous clamor for actor Fred Thompson to officially declare his candidacy for the 2008 presidential election. The poll numbers indicate Thompson possesses a movie star’s presence, a sound bite worthy tongue, and a country singer’s knack for stirring up patriotic fervor. All these characteristics should make me welcome his inevitable jump into the race, but I am restrained from embracing his entry by celebrity political phobia.

As a conservative who had a modest degree of professional interaction with and observation of Ronald and Nancy Reagan, as well as a host of current and past celebrity figures, there is no question in my mind that Ronald Reagan and George Washington were exceptions rather than rules when it came to celebrity being good for politics. It was just as important that Reagan was a former actor as it was that George Washington was a former general. Had either been actively employed in their chosen professions when running for the presidency, it could have been said of them that it was merely their celebrity status that captivated the attention of voters.

Washington was the most popular American when the framers of the constitution sought an appropriate man to serve as the first president. His popularity as the victorious general of the Revolutionary War was enormous, but what endeared him to most to the general population and especially the Framers was his willingness to relinquish control of the Army and desire to retire quietly to private life after the Revolutionary War concluded. These actions cemented his reputation as a man of unquestionable integrity who sought the good of his nation more than he sought to be popular. This made him the ideal choice for a first president, and he demonstrated more integrity and humility when, after serving as president and commander in chief, he stepped aside, refusing to entertain popular pleadings that the laws be changed to allow him another term.

By the time Reagan ran for president, his movie career was decades in the past, and his own personal charisma and dedication to conservative principles ultimately won the hearts of voters. Reagan was prepared by long life experience to be the right man at the right time in the Cold War drama, and despite his landslide victories remained affable, sincere, and unaffected by adulation. In short, Reagan was not elected BECAUSE he was a former actor, he was chosen DESPITE being a former actor. The political accomplishments that ultimately led to his GOP nomination in 1980 were separate from his cinematic achievements. He truly had two careers, although clearly one certainly prepared him for the public performance aspect of the other.

However, the trend toward merging our celebrity worship culture with the selection of our leaders is becoming more commonplace and, well, popular. Instead of reluctantly turning to celebrities, it is now fashionable to nominate them simply because they are famous. The list is long and continues to grow: Sonny Bono; Clint Eastwood; Fred Grandy; Bill Bradley; Steve Largent; Tom Osborne; Arnold Schwarzenegger; Jesse Ventura; Fred Thompson, and more. While some of these men have proven capable in their elected offices, the parlaying of popularity into politics is, in the long term, a dangerous and damaging societal trend.

The desire to boost Schwarzenegger into the presidency nearly convinced members of the House and Senate to introduce an amendment to the Constitution to allow those born outside of the United States to serve as president, all because in a justified fit of pique, California voters chose to throw then Governor Gray Davis out and Schwarzenegger, adopting the slogan “The Governator” in a sickening display of celebrity, overshadowed more qualified GOP candidates like Tom McClintock who had dedicated years and decades to lowering taxes and other cherished conservative ideals.

The groundswell of support for Fred Thompson’s potential run for president in 2008 is disturbing because it is based on his celebrity more than his political convictions. Who wouldn’t want the tough-talking DA from “Law & Order” warning the Iranians to stop seeking nuclear bombs, or the hard nosed admiral from “The Hunt for Red October” staring down Putin in what appears to be a coming Cold War II? The problem is that Thompson is a former politician and current actor, the reverse of Reagan, and thus his name recognition is truly based solely on his acting career. Thompson dabbled in politics, using his movie star status to secure a Senate seat, but when he tired of the ideological battle, he retreated back to acting. Reagan never tired of the ideological battle, fighting it convincingly and publicly until only disease could silence him.

While Reagan’s former aides, such as Michael Deaver, may see in Thompson some similarities with their former boss, the comparison appears shallow at best. Conservatives should not further fuel the fire of celebrity-driven politics by choosing Thompson just because one former actor turned out to be a great choice. I never thought it possible to agree with anything spoken by “West Wing” star Martin Sheen, but, when approached by DNC officials about running for the Senate in his home state of Ohio, Sheen reportedly stated, “I’m just not qualified. You’re confusing celebrity for credibility.” Thompson is clearly more popular than any of the current GOP candidates, but in selecting our future leaders we must curb the trend to allow media popularity to become a virtue in itself. For practical purposes, liberal celebrities far outnumber conservative stars, thus embracing popularity in candidates is potentially suicidal for conservatives in the long term.

In coming months, Thompson may prove himself a worthy candidate, but the high poll numbers in advance of his candidacy may signal that conservatives value him more for his name and face recognition than substantive qualifications. Most voting in these polls have never watched him debate, or deliver a political speech, or write a piece of legislation, or argue on the Senate floor, but they have seen and heard him on TV and in movies, and that is apparently enough to convince them he will be a convincing president. Opening the floodgates of celebrities turned politicians will have a profoundly negative effect on how we govern ourselves. How many times have genuinely well qualified candidates with impeccable integrity been pushed aside because they lacked big name status and were perceived as unelectable nationally? Conservatives must make sure that Thompson is the right man for the job, not merely the best available celebrity.