Walk up Mass Ave. and you might hear a different language on every block. More than a quarter of Boston’s residents are foreign born, and nearly half of all kids in Boston have at least one foreign-born parent, according to city figures.
But learning English isn’t so easy. More than half of those in need of English-language classes end up on wait lists.
About 3,400 adults are enrolled in English to Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) classes in Boston, but another 4,000 are waitlisted, according to Alejandra St. Guillen, director of the city’s Office of New Bostonians. That’s only for state-funded programs in the city; but the pattern is the same for private courses.
“Boston has always been a city of immigrants,” St. Guillen said. “You can’t find a place in Boston that doesn’t have a growing immigrant population.”
http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/2015/03/25/why-hard-learn-english-boston/rjkFiogz7GPCo4sauQWQHI/story.html
Realistically, the situation was probably very much the same in 1776. What's the main difference between then and now?
In 1776, the colonists were able to portray the British as our enemy and to use that imagery to unify the population against them.
Today, "our" government is able to portray white American citizens as the enemy and to use that imagery to unify the immigrant population against us.
In 1776, the powers that be were trying to create a nation state.
In 2015, the powers that be are trying to destroy our nation state and to replace it with a market state.
Immigrants have value in a market state. Citizens of the old nation state don't have value; they represent a net liability.
Capisce?
It's all about power and money (which enables power). It has nothing to do with principles or (don't make me laugh) "democracy".
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