[Superman]

Our guard shack is manned by a guy who likes to talk, and who faithfully, regularly, daily.....listens to right-wing hate-radio. I've nodded and smiled though all his rants as I show my security badge. Until yesterday morning.

He was going off about how the majority of people in Miami used to speak English, and now the majority of them don't speak English. He ended by asking the question "Where does that come from?" I couldn't resist.

I asked him if he was aware of the history of this country. I asked him if the term "Ellis Island" rang a bell. I asked him what solution he proposed. His answer to that one was pretty funny. He said he's a big fan of "personal responsibility." I pointed out that the "personal responsibility" approach to mandating English fluency is the approach we are using now.

I thought "okay," as long as he seems to be into whining and griping and criticizing America like all staunch conservatives seem to be doing, I thought I'd offer him one of my pet peeves. I told him that was I really hate is these talk-show radio guys who make their living getting people pissed off at America by pointing out all that's wrong (using partial information and assumptions and innuendo). I told him I think it is beyond unpatriotic to do this. I told him I consider it treasonous to regularly, daily, bash government agencies (their favorite target by FAR) using partial information (leaving out the parts that tell "the rest of the story"). At this point, he was stammering quite a bit.

I don't really want to paint any undue stereotypes here but quite frankly, his ***** this morning was classic conservative hatred. It is just another instance where conservatives want to regulate PEOPLE, and deregulate INDUSTRY. They want to require everyone to behave in a way that pleases them. English-speaking pleases them. They don't want change. They want things to be like they were fifty years ago or more. And they don't consider the problem of implementation. They only want to see how their nation is failing. How America is going to Hell in a handbasket. Because we have spanish-speaking communities in America. ****! The proportion of non-English speaking Americans today is probably not as high as it was at the start of the eighteenth century.

With so many people becoming famous and popular by spewing hate talk on the radio and supporting that hatred with misinformation, I wonder if anyone is surprised by the observation that voters are making ignorant decisions at the polls. Patriots? Nope. Traitors? Yes, I think so.