I just finished watching a show on CBS tonight and while I’m not sure if other channels are doing this yet, what I saw was a first for me.  A Severe Thunderstorm Warning tickertape scrawled on the bottom of my screen.  Instead of the text being repeated twice, the second time the message came around it was shown in Spanish.  I said out loud – “Wow”.  I think the tipping point has officially occurred.

Regardless of what you think of our current immigration laws and how legal and illegal residents conduct their business within our borders, the reality is that our children will have to be bilingual – particularly in Spanish and English.  The actuality of our southern neighbors (not just Mexico) integrating into our society has reached critical mass.  Whether you like it or not, Spanish will be a second official language of our country within our children’s lifetimes.

Being bilingual isn’t a bad thing.  Most non-English speaking countries teach their children English or other important languages as Spanish or French so why not us?  Switzerland has 4 official languages.  The last time I checked, civil war hadn’t uprooted their country over multiculturalism.  Canada, while culturally fractured by the English-speaking and French-speaking Quebecers, still manages to get along just fine with 2 languages.  In fact, they could unofficially have 2 additional official languages with the influx of Japanese and Chinese residents the past few decades.

I will admit to one pet peeve though.  Personally, were I to live in another country that didn’t speak English, I would do everything I could to assimilate into that culture.  I wouldn’t speak English loudly on a bus or demand an English-only radio or TV station.  I would respect the culture of the country I’m in.  But with the ever-shrinking globe, thanks to technology in every aspect of our lives, countries will have to find other ways to carve out their identities.

America, Spanish is here to stay.  Yes, this is old news in places like California and Arizona and other pockets of the country, but now it’s infiltrating all parts of America.  Will St Paul, Minnesota be renamed San Paulo?  Probably not, but if the Mall of America doesn’t have driving instructions in Spanish on their website yet, they need to do it soon.