I just love how Dr. Wallace keeps referring to the Democratic Party as the "Socialist" Democratic Party as though wanting socialistic values for all citizens is some extremely horrible thing.

Socialism is defined as: A theory or system of social reform which contemplates a complete reconstruction of society, with a more just and equitable distribution of property and labor.

Now I admit that in many circles (usually the Super-Wealthy who prefer to keep things for themselves), Socialism is a bad thing because it calls for equality and justice in the division of property, wealth and labor. People tend to look at the failed Communist role in Russia to prove that Socialism cannot work, but what they fail to acknowledge is that Socialism was never given a *real* chance to take root in Russia because power went to the head of Her leaders. Mother Russia could have been a model to the world of social justice and equality. The Super Wealthy prefer the system of Capitalism, where the few rule the masses who in a sense work for slave-wages while the few get even more wealthy. They prefer the dog-eat-dog world of selling people out so long as they make the top dollar.

I saw a recent example of this where I work. A small donut franchise signed a contract with my company to supply all its stores with donuts, exclusively. This small franchise, however, saw an opportunity to expand its business by accepting a contract from another chain of stores. The owners of my company pulled this donut franchise out of all of its stores. So here we have a MAJOR Convenience store chain pulling the reigns of a small Donut franchise and who really gets the shaft? The customers at my store who depended on those donuts everyday for their breakfast. Yeah, I know, we could all do with a better source of breakfast food than a donut, but that isn't the real point. The real point is that the working class (the customers) no longer have a choice of a donut for breakfast at our convinience store. If they want their donut fix, they have to chose one of the store brands or other chains' brands that we carry. No more freshly made donuts. Their other option, of course, would be to go where the donuts are now: the other convinience store chain. And they just might do that since the gas is cheaper there, even if the quality of customer service is less friendly (I've been to one of the other chain's stores and the service was horrible!)

So what would have been a better alternative? For me, it would have been no exclusive contracts. Allow this small franchise to make money where ever it could. Afterall, isn't that the name of the game in Capitalism? Dog-eat-dog! But you see, those on the top of the Capitalistic ladder can make all the rules they want to and to hell with the little guys trying to make their way up that ladder.

So which is it that really wants to keep the slave labor going? Socialism or Capitalism? If this was a socialistic society, our customers could have bought donuts from anywhere made by any donut company they wanted. However, in this Capitalistic society, those on the top of the ladder dictate where the donut sellers can put their merchandise and we, the customers, have to make a choice, do we sacrifice good service for the donuts we crave? or, do we settle for less quality for better service?

The same can be applied to Diversity in language. And again, don't get me wrong. I honestly believe that anyone who immigrates to the USA should learn English. It is the common language of this country. However, I think it is very arrogant of this country to think that it should be the *only* language spoken here. It also shows how lazy we Americans are to learn foreign languages. In Europe, most common citizens can speak at least 3 languages. In some foreign countries, they can speak up to 5 foreign languages. Why do we Americans think that we should *only* speak English and the world should come around to our way of thinking? Arrogance! Pure and Simple Arrogance! and laziness.

Diversity is a good thing. Diversity is a necessary thing. No one should have to give up his or her cultural experiences to become an American citizen. Oh yes, I have heard the arguement, "If they want to keep their cultural experiences, let them stay in their home countries!" Do these people who make this arguement think that when their fore fathers came to this land that they left all of their cultural experiences behind? No! In fact, they brought their cultural experiences, their languages, and their religions to this country and meshed with everyone else here. It is what has made this country the Great Melting Pot. It is what has allowed us to have such diverse communities and yet, still work together to create common goals as a country. Maintaining one's native language is an asset in this country, not a liability. Just check out the classifieds some time and you will see scores of ads seeking bilingual applicants. So please, Dr. Wallace, get off of your high horse and stop blaming the Democrats for endorsing Diversity! If you want to maintain your precious English Language exclusively, I suggest you go buy your own Island and dictate your will to its people because here in America, we still have a republic democracy and God Willing, we will stop the likes of you from forcing a dictatorship upon us!

And one last point before I step down from my soap box. People like Dr. Wallace and his ilk need to stop blaming the Democrats for the education system in this country. The last time I looked at the voting records in Congress on Education bills and spending, Democrats have been fighting to get higher wages for teachers, more education programs and better quality into public school systems. Yes, I will agree, our education system is nothing like it was when I was in school 20+ years ago; however, the only alternative Republicans can come up with for education reform is school vouchers where kids are taken out of Public school systems and placed into private, often religious, school systems where they will only learn to interact with people of their same background and/or religious affiliations. This will do nothing but separate cultures in this country, damage the public school system further, and do more harm to our children than benefit them. If people like Dr. Wallace and his ilk *really* want to help school children, the majority and the minority students, they should be working hard to reform the public school system. Give our teachers better pay so that more young people are willing and eager to go into the teaching field. This will increase the QUALITY of education. Supply the schools with up-to-date equipment and state-of-the-art technology so that kids of all backgrounds can learn equally. Stop making these testing programs top of the education structure because this forces teachers to teach only topics that are on the tests and turn students into drones just memorizing dates, names, and events to pass the tests. If you want to really reform public education, take a look at the Montessori form of education where students are taught by INTEREST, not by forced education. Montessori education provides some of the best students who learn to use their minds and go on to top colleges. Montessori education is intergrating with some public school systems here in my state and the Union between the two is astounding! We need THINKERS and DOERS in this country, not DRONES!

:::climbs off her soap box:::