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Anywhere I go, there is someone who speaks English. The world's technological language is English. People in foreign countries are scrambling to learn and speak English. With these things in mind, I can easily understand why most Americans are not inspired to learn a second language. Why bother? Sure, we like to travel, but we can't be expected to learn the language in every country we visit for a week. Sure, Mexico borders the US to the South and French-speaking Canada borders a part of the US to the North, butif I live in the US, what's the point?

I can also understand any nation's resistance to learning any other nation's language. Except for those few who must live or work for long periods of time in a foreign country, it can seem like a waste of time and effort. Many fear losing their cultural identity because language is, of course, the key to culture. We live in a world that, if I may be permitted to be clich, is getting smaller and smaller, and we cannot deny that technology has all but eliminated the distances between countries and peoples. Races and ethnic groups begin to blend, languages disappear and others are born. People groups and languages have always been fluid, but technology has sped up the process. Holding tight to one's language is like protecting one's heritage. When the European Union was formed and everyone began using the same money, many feared that their cultural identity would be stripped away. The same fear exists about language. I know many in the United States fear having two official languages in some places. This threatens their sense of security, of who they are. Of course, some people have no desire to learn another language for much simpler reasons. They don't want to and they don't have to. I think they are missing out on a great adventure in life, but it is their choice.

I speak two languages fluently and I have studied, on one level or another, six others. I believe that learning another language, even if not well, forces us to step out of our egocentric world for just a little while and admit that there are others out there. We are forced to consider that our way may not always be the best way. A powerful nation made up of people who are convinced that their way is not only the best way, but the only way, is a dangerous nation. I am not saying that learning a foreign language is a sure-fire cure for this problem, but it is a step in the right direction. When you learn a language, you must shift your thinking, sometimes

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