Language Matters

This topic doesn't come up very often anymore in politics. After all, the economy and other issues that are important are taking up the stage right now.  So why do I feel that language is important enough a subject to bring up? Because, as the title says, language matters.

The greatest crisis the United States faces right now is one of identity.  We can't agree on who we are, what we believe, or even what direction we think the country should go.  We are divided, and because we are divided we are vulnerable to anyone who wants to use our divisions to pick us off.  If you want an illustration of how effective this tactic is, think of a wolf pack and how it hunts down the giant caribou.  It does not take on the entire herd at once. The wolf pack knows that to do so would end up in defeat, if not death.  No, the wolves scope out the weak ones first and then work to separate the weak from the strong.  It's worked since the dawn of time for them, and believe me when I tell you that it will work on us as well.

Language may seem like a small thing, but it's huge.  Ideas and information can only flow freely when all parties understand one another.  An illustration of the kind of damage that can be done just by blocking the flow of communication can be found in the Bible in Genesis, where it talks about the Tower of Babel.  Here we had a group of human beings working together, communicating in the same language, and doing great - if dangerous - things.  All God had to do to destroy their unity and dismantle their ability to accomplish much of anything was to change their languages.  If America is to survive, she must adopt a single language and make it law that all men, women, and children who are citizens of this country learn that language.

It doesn't have to be English. It would be easier on me if it were, but maybe English isn't the best route to go.  Maybe we need to come up with a language completely our own - representative of our people and our heritage - a conglomeration, if you will, of the best of each.  I don't know what this new language would be like, but I do know one thing: America cannot continue to stand divided, and she will not be united until all can speak together as one.