I was bicycling home this evening (before my chain broke and I finished by walking home) and as I rode serenely down a quiet Southeast street, a man and a woman were talking. Apparently saying goodbye, happy voices, the kind of way that lots of friendsor siblings talk to one another at the end of a pleasant evening. Only I had no idea what they were saying because they were talking in Vietnamese.

And I, thought how very cool. I understood not a single word, but I knew they were happy, I knew they cared about each other, and I knew they were good people just going about their lives. Like average, ordinary Americans — speaking Vietnamese.

What could be more American? A normal life, normal people, being friendly and enjoying whatever it is they have in life. The woman lived in a very nice home; she and whoever she might live with made a good living; the man probably did as well. I'm sure they both speak at least passable English, enough to prosper in our community, but they chooose to converse in their native tongue.

The idea that there is anything wrong with this picture just flies in the face of what it means to be an American. Those who push for English-only never speak of liberty, of rights, of freedom from oppression. The basic values that formed and shaped our country are not in their vocabulary. Instead their arguments are of the cost to society, the need to assimilate, the difficulty of living together without a homegeneous langauge basis. That, to me, sounds like totalitarianism at work: the obliteration of the individual, of difference, of the international spices that make the American melting pot not only flavorful but vibrant and productive.

The lack of English skills affect only the immigrant generation. Their children, one way or another, learn English fine; and their children turn into regular American brats with ease. Having Spanish and other langauges available in the elementary school years helps provide a strong base for children so that as they move into the upper grades, they have the basic skill set they need to excel. They will learn English; by the time they are middle-school age, they'll have enough English to do just fine.

The bottom line cannot be about what makes school easier to teach or what having "their" languages does to the curriculum. The bottom line is what it is that makes our country great. Above all, it's liberty: the freedom to be the person you were born (ok, within reason; if you're born a psychopath...), to pursue the life you value, to live your life as you see fit (within the bounds of the law). Telling a child to abandon his or her parents' language at the age of six is just wrong. Yes, we need to teach them English as quickly as possible, but that's not the real goal. The goal is to make citizens, to lead children into an adulthood where they take responsibility for their life and are active, productive members of their society.

English-only does not do this. It simply teaches a child there is something wrong about your parents and your people, and we are going to teach you a better way.

But it's not the American way.