Hoy es el cinco de mayo e yo deseo empezar una discusion sobre una tema muy relevante: Americans and language.

What does it tell us about ourselves that we are the most powerful country in the world and the most linguistically incompetent? At the time we went to war with Iraq, it was reported that there were only six people in the State Department who knew enough Arabic to go on Arab-speaking television. I talked to a group of people this morning and asked how many had taken two or more years of Spanish: almost all raised their hands. So I started asking some very simple Cinco de Mayo questions -- quickly one after the other admitted they retained nothing; their two years were totally gone. Not a trace remained. How tragic for them and for us as a nation.

I meet tomorrow with a group of French educators -- they all will speak English because French educators speak English. As do educators and taxi drivers and pilots and store owners in virtually every corner of the world.

When history is written -- as it is being day by day-- this empire will be considered as a great economic and military power that had no compelling reason to take the rest of the world seriously enough to learn enough language to have a conversation in anything but English. My rant on cinco de mayo. to be continued on syttende mai.