I may be one of a very few American citizens who thinks this is wonderful.
Early this week, Guido Westerwelle, a man who will probably become Germany's next Foreign Minister, politely pulled a nice reversal, of sorts, on what I see here in the United States all the time.
Westerwelle was holding a news conference on Monday in Berlin after being elected into Germany's governing body when a British reporter asked if he would answer a question in English.
Westerwelle succinctly put an end to that query in the reporter's own language.
"Would you please be so kind, this is a press conference in Germany."
The reporter asked a second time before a second rebuff all but forced him to ask his question through a translator.
While I believe Westerwelle is absolutely in the right in this case, I am reminded of the thousands of Americans who want to waste taxpayer dollars on making English the "official" language of the United States.
I am fairly certain that most, if not all, the nations of the world understand that English is this nation's common form of communication.
I am not certain what good adding "We Speak English" alongside "In God We Trust" on our currency would accomplish.
I fear that the goal is to criminalize speaking in any other language. It is doubtful that making such a "rule" would discourage under-educated people from other countries from trying to enter the Land of the Free, whether to live or just to visit.
Those who are in favor of such a policy need to, instead, go to their local Home Depots and Lowe's hardware stores (or any other chain that used bilingual signage) and protest doing business with them until they make their businesses English-only.
I would bet, however, that those same people would probably argue that such a stance is anti-capitalist.
The greatest irony of it all may be what some Americans have said upon returning from an overseas vacation. They complain about how rude the servers at restaurants were, or the odd looks they received in gift shops.
It was probably because the American tourists were looking for people who spoke their language.
Westerwelle deserves applause for both acknowledging and admonishing the BBC reporter, and trying to set an example that "official languages" can swing both ways.
(Source: Yahoo! News)
