Linguistic Nationalism

The Washington Post reports that a student in the backward state of Kansas has been suspended for speaking Spanish. It is the opening shot in a war that I have long feared. I support immigration. It is a key to American power. We have been a welcoming country for our entire existence (despite some unfortunate policies), and it has been an economic boon. It's another form of backwards-thinking states' assertiing their xenophobia. I hate xenophobes.
With the riots in the "sous-bois" in France, a new era of nationalistic xenophobia has emerged. The xenophobes have always existed (witness Pat Buchanan), but they are becoming resurgent. While I oppose several conditions in Bush's immigration bill (and I despise Bush as well), it is a step forward that may end up causing a step back. In an increasingly globalized world, where national borders to trade are being reduced, the backlash against labor migration is increasingly ascerbic. The new form of the xenophobe is organized. With the Minutemen patrolling the border to "guard" against immigrants who want to come into the U.S., the sickness is exposed to America. I am proud of my heritage, as an American, and as a descendent of European immigrants a few generations (or more, some of my ancestors came over on the Mayflower) and I hate to see it being exploited to keep others out. I grew up in the town of Minutemen, not the xenophobes, but the idealists. In Concord, Massachusetts, my hometown, the battle began for American independence. I can honestly say that those who call themselves 'Minutemen' today would have been tarred and feathered in Concord.
We should welcome immigrants. The main problem today is not that immigrants are flocking to our shores. It is that their countries of origin may be losing valuable talent. But that is a different argument. What the United States has always prided itself on is being a melting pot, and being welcoming (at least to their labor).
The point of my rant has been to convey my belief that diversity (racial and of national origin) is beneficial to the U.S. and that those who oppose immigrants, the speaking of non-English languages and non-Christian religions (which they assert was the religion of the founders; no they were intelligent deists who valued a secular government and understood the allegorical complexity of the Bible). It is no more valid to outlaw the speaking of Spanish in schools as it is to ban the intermarriages of blacks and whites. People are people no matter where fate may have taken them.