'American' isn't a language, Sarah. // Uriel Cruz, Period 6

Summary // During an interview on CNN, Sarah Palin was asked for her opinion on the Bush v Trump debate. The Bush v Trump debate started when Bush was asked a question in Spanish and responded in Spanish. Trump told Bush that he should "speak English, not Spanish, when campaigning in the US." In response, Jeb Bush said that "Trump doesn't value tolerance." Sarah praised Jeb for being fluent in Spanish since America has an enormous Hispanic population and he really connects with them, unlike the other candidates. Although this is a really good thing for Bush and the Hispanics, Palin says that everyone should "speak American." That English is like the lingua franca of the US and everyone should speak it so everyone understands each other.

Analysis // Sarah has a point when speaking about Bush's connection with the Hispanics, she sees it is a good way to understand their views and get their voice out. She then gives a Trump-like speech about immigrants. This is probably where she lost a lot of support, including mine. She said that if you're illegal, you're out of here and that everyone should speak 'American.' First of all, people can't help it if they're illegal. If they try to get papers, they'll get thrown out, so they wait for their kids to become adults to get papers for them. Many families are at risk of getting kicked out of the US just because of this. Children are waiting to turn 18 just to keep their parents with them, they aren't waiting to go to clubs or leave the house. Second, English is the world's second hardest language to learn, my parents still don't know how to use proper grammar and they've been here for almost 17 years. I still have trouble with both languages and I've known them for as long as I remember. Learning a  new language isn't as easy as native speakers think it is. This ties in to America's attitude towards people who aren't themselves. America suffers from extreme patriotism, they are so proud of themselves that they only like and talk to people who are like them. The French also are like this, they're so proud of themselves that if you ask for an apple, they'll act confused until you say 'je voudrais une pomme s'il vous-plait.' This is very frustrating to people who don't speak either country's language, but the native speakers don't see why it's so frustrating. Their languages are so complex and difficult to learn. People who have been speaking it since day one don't realize how hard it is but expect foreigners to have it memorized. It's like putting a kid in a car and telling them to go get milk. They've seen it on tv but they don't really know anything about it.

Click here for the link to the source. If that doesn't work, the link will be below.

www.cnn.com/2015/09/06/politics/sarah-palin-diversity-spanish/index.html