Hullabaloo
About a week ago, I had occasion to hear and read some of the media coverage regarding the political campaign to make English the official language of the United States of America.
A few years ago, I would have gotten a kick out of deriding the pandering inanity of this ploy but not this time. Because, it doesn’t matter any more.
First, English has far too much momentum to become anything but the dominant language of the world, let alone the U.S.. Second, Hispanic youth — the implicit target of this political campaign — want desperately to speak the language of Jay Z and J. Lo, not Marc Anthony and Don Francisco.
Let me put it in more personal terms. I also neglected to make a passing remark about this “national language” brouhaha because I didn’t have the time. I was too busy working 24/7 at my new job where I am making a general entertainment web site for Hispanic youth and young adults.
It’s noteworthy that my employer in this venture is not KQED Inc., but, rather, General Electric.
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I was reminded of all this by the following passage which notes a parallel irony in the struggle between conservative and liberal forces in American society:
[T]his conservative era only exists in electoral politics. In every other way, this is one of the most liberal eras in history. Between the changes in marriage and women’s rights alone, society is undergoing a massive shift. The conservative era he refers to is a piddly ass backlash against forces that are far stronger than anything Judge Roy Moore and James Dobson have put forth.
Incidentally, this quote is taken from the website “Hullabaloo,” which, as it happens, is a rhyming repetition of “hello” that originated in Scotland and Northern England and has come to mean an uproar.