Back in the 1850s, there was a nativist political movement called the American Party which existed basically to express hostility to immigrants of all types. Party members were reportedly so secretive that when they were asked about party tenets or beliefs, they were supposed to answer, "I know nothing." The party thus became known as the Know-Nothings, an appellation that is still with us today.
Last week, Barack Obama talked about how our schools need to put more emphasis on teaching foreign languages, saying that language skills are more important than ever in an increasingly globalized economy. More language skills = better jobs = more money.
Sounds pretty reasonable, right? Well, our generation's Know-Nothings responded with the vitriol and rage fully expected of ignorant people who know they're going to get creamed in November. Many accused Obama of wanting to force children to speak Spanish. The Weekly Standard called his remarks "snobbery," a line echoed by many in the conservative media who called it just one more example of how he looks down on "real Americans."
Meanwhile, the National Review indulged in some snobbery of its own, claiming that most people are too dumb to learn foreign languages or even anything beyond the three Rs. And in a neat logical backflip, they turned it into another attack on Obama for having the audacity to believe otherwise.
For their part, Fox News brought on Joey Vento, a nativist hero for putting a "This Is America: When Ordering Please Speak English" sign in his restaurant window. Calling Obama "a sick man...a scary man," Vento ranted on how Americans should shun immigrants who do not learn English. (Of course, Obama wasn't talking about immigrants of any kind, but that has never stopped Fox News from attacking him.)
Republicans are already known as the party of deliberate ignorance for their support of creationism, abstinence-only sex education and a general disdain for anything which doesn't fit their ideology. This latest tantrum does nothing to change that.
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