Barack Obama Will Surrender to Mexico!

Or so says the ever-growing anti-Obama lunatics. Apparently it's not enough anymore to claim that you disagree with someone. For instance, I am not showing proper involvement in the political process by saying something like, "I can not support John McCain for president. While there are many reasons for this, chief among them are his stated inclination to continue American aggression in the Middle East, his unwillingness to address serious economic concerns, and a belief that the Supreme Court should not be shifted any further to the right." Instead, I need to up the ante to be competitive. For instance, I could say, "John McCain is a secret bastard grandchild of Adolph Hitler, bent on carrying out his grandsire's plan for world domination. He drinks the blood of non-Christians to maintain his vigor, and plans to force all young Americans to spend two years as prisoners in a POW camp to 'build character'." Isn't that better? Isn't that good, rational politics?

Anyway, here's the video clip that came through my e-mail with a lot of bluster attached.



The general message attached to this video was, "See? Obama is a Muslim, because he wants your children to learn Spanish, and Spain was once a Muslim country! And it means he thinks all Americans should speak Spanish instead of English! English is the language of the World, but not once Obama becomes president!" There is no apparent recognition of the irony involved, as Obama's more general point about American education is underscored by the proud display, intentional or otherwise, of poor aural comprehension.

The worst part about this is that such bullshit is always perpetuated by exactly the people who stand to gain the most through educational improvement. There is no doubt that education is a mark of class in this country. The wealthiest send their children to private schools, where their children will learn Latin and at least one other language. The upper-middle class send their children to well-funded public schools where numerous language classes are available, some starting as early as third grade. Knowing a foreign language in America is a class marker; like foreign travel and an understanding of world history, the wealthiest Americans instill it in their children while underhanded nationalistic marketing targeted to the middle and lower classes convinces them that such endeavors are useless and unamerican. Anyone who thinks that America is a classless society has been fooled into thinking so by those who want to maintain their position.