That became clear again recently in the reaction to Latino complaints that the state's Division of Motor Vehicles isn't treating them fairly.

They contended that the DMV gives them the runaround when they apply for a driver's license, often sending them home or to another office to obtain a form that really isn't needed. Many also noted that there were no pamphlets or instructions printed in Spanish so they could understand what to do.

That brought a flood of phone calls and mail to the city's daily newspapers and stirred up a hornet's nest on the radio talk shows.

How dare these foreigners come here and ask that we speak Spanish for their convenience? Tell 'em to learn English, was the cry from most.

"My parents had to learn English when they came from Germany. No one printed instructions in German for them,'' complained one caller.

That, of course, isn't exactly true. Not only did the German immigrants get help in dealing with the government (many of the governmental workers spoke German themselves), but daily and weekly newspapers that printed in their language included step-by-step instructions on how to cope in their new country.

The same was true for Norwegian immigrants in the Midwest, Italians in the East and the Polish in Chicago, Milwaukee and other parts of the country.

In short, it isn't fair to compare what our ancestors faced in their new land with what the Latino and Hispanic immigrants are facing today.

Granted, they do need to learn English, our language. And, as surveys across the country prove, they are. But people can't become fluent in English overnight.

On one hand we welcome Spanish-speaking folks here because we need workers (and workers need driver's licenses), but then we complain when they can't speak the native language the day they jump out of the car.

What's more hypocritical on our part is the way all too many Americans themselves act when they go to foreign countries.

Friends I've visited in Germany, for example, often remark how Americans fully expect them to speak English and make not even the slightest attempt to learn some German.

"It's as if some of your people are above that,'' one told me a few years ago.

I ndeed, of all the developed nations in the world, U.S. citizens rank lowest in being able to speak or read more than one language -- English.

Yet we're quick to judge others, like those who have spoken another language since they were kids. Tell 'em to speak English, is our retort.

Any wonder the rest of the world considers us to be arrogant?

Dave Zweifel is the editor of The Capital Times.

© 2000 The Capital Times

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