I read with interest the comments by my most esteemed colleague, Peter Book, in regards to the apparent reluctance of some of today’ s immigrant groups in learning the English language. Mr. Book concludes that when it comes to benefits, these folks certainly don’t hesitate to learn then. Well, while I do not rush to judgment, I can understand Mr. Book’s frustration. I personally do not have any beef with his position.

I came to the U.S. as a child and struggled for a while but I learned the language quickly and all was well. But unlike my friend Mr. Book, I do not see today’s immigrants’ failure to speak English the result of any malice. I believe it’s something that has to do with culture. Some cultures run deeper than others and hold onto their roots more fiercely. The tricky part of all this is how we would go about enforcing one language on everybody. Interestingly, I have been to and read about some of our native American’s reservations in New Mexico and the western states. Did you know that some of our native Americans in those reservations DO NOT SPEAK A WORD OF ENGLISH? Yes, it’s true and I dam say they don’t have to if they don’t want to. This was their home before anybody else’s. And in terms of enforcing the English language on them,what are we going to do to those native Americans, deport them?

Eralides E. Cabrera, Esq.