Add “bilingual” preference on the part of business to the increasing ways that Americans face unfair treatment in our own nation. More and more, citizens are expected to know the language of the invader while Spanish speakers do not need to speak English.

We already pay for translations of official documents into various languages for the convenience of immigrants, as the city of Oakland has been doing for a decade.

Last year the federal government made the standards more stringent for the already required services of translators for medical treatment. The dubious “right” to medical interpretation came about through the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which has also brought us expensive multilingual ballots, despite the legal requirement that immigrants must speak English to be naturalized.

Of course, such “rights” add enormously to Americans’ tax burden and to the skyrocketing cost of healthcare.

Furthermore, polls show Americans still expect newbies to learn English and don’t appreciate language diversity when immigrants disrespect the country by not learning English. Nobody asked them to come, and their attitude of entitlement and non-assimilation is an insult to all of us.

Today’s example of diminishing American rights in our own country comes from a letter to the Odessa American, illustrating that jobless citizens in hispanic areas have yet another obstacle to employment — the requirement to be “bilingual,” more accurately described as “Spanish speaking.”

LETTER: ‘Bilingual preferred’ means discrimination, Odessa American, September 25, 2011

Bilingual preferred, what does that really mean? As I look in the Odessa American for a job this is all I come across. Does this mean if I’m not bilingual I don’t qualify for the job?

Shouldn’t they already have employees there who can speak English and Spanish?

If I can’t speak Spanish, why does that disqualify me from a job? Can I help that I wasn’t born to speak another language? Should I be penalized or discriminated against because of this? Why should I have to learn another language because there are so many people who don’t know or want to learn English? Is this fair?

They offer free classes at Odessa College to learn English but they charge to learn Spanish or another language. I was born a U.S. citizen in the United States of America where English is our first language. Why should I have to learn another language just to “fit in” when this is the first and only language I know.

I know I have a lot of questions and I need answers, the thing is I don’t know who to ask. I feel “bilingual preferred” is a form of discrimination for the people who can’t speak or read Spanish. Does job performance even count anymore? I guess as long as your “bilingual” you can get the job. What about the rest of the people who don’t? How are we supposed to provide for our family, get a job just because we don’t talk the right language. I thought I was.

– Cathy Kelly