A new Home Depot store is being built in Roanoke at the intersection of 114 and 377.  It is almost done and they have a sign up that says that they are taking applications for employment now.  What caught my attention was that the same message was repeated in Spanish at the bottom of the sign.

One of the things that disturbs me is the growing number of people who are living and working in this country who do not speak English.  Worse, to my way of thinking, is that there is a rather vocal group of people who don’t see anything wrong with it.  These people like to frame this as a racist thing, that if I don’t support their right to live in this country without speaking the language that I’m some insensitive racist.  They’d be wrong, but that doesn’t seem to stop them from screaming it from the rooftops.

Let’s be perfectly clear, though, that I am not against people coming to this country.  I just want three things of people who want to come here: 1) Do it legally, 2) learn to speak English, and 3) be willing to work.  People can speak whatever language they want amongst their friends and family, but the vast majority of this country speaks English and if people want to truly succeed, they must speak the language. 

I’ve long wondered what happened to the old paradigm of the melting pot in American culture.  I think it was a good one and we should get back to it, as nothing will destroy this country more quickly than if we become a collection of factions and ethnic enclaves that are all in competition with each other, which I am afraid is the direction that we’re heading now.

If we want this country to succeed, we must ditch the hyphens and all become Americans.