Manchurian Candidate Huntsman?

As if the Republican primaries couldn’t stoop any lower. I was watching the news today and saw a new attack ad on Presidential hopeful Jon Huntsman from an alleged Ron Paul supporter, NHLiberty4Paul. Now I am no fan of Jon Huntsman in any way but I find myself coming to his defense on this one. The ad attacks Mr. Huntsman by questioning his allegiance to the United States and what he stands for simply because he speaks Chinese! Really?!

Let’s look at this logically for a second, what was Jon Huntsman before he became a Presidential hopeful? That’s right folks, the Ambassador to the People’s Republic of China! I’m not sure if this alleged Ron Paul supporter knows this but knowing another language, specifically the one you will be immersed in until you resign or another administration calls you back home, is kind of important. When working for the State Department and/or any other foreign services taking language courses to help develop linguistic skills is pretty much mandatory.

Other important prerequisites for ambassadors are skills in foreign diplomacy, knowledge of the country’s history and cultural knowledge of the country you are applying for. Does the old cliché When in Rome ring a bell?

If knowing a foreign language in any capacity is deemed Un-American then that would mean that 21 Presidents of the United States are in the same boat as Jon Huntsman.

John Adams spoke five languages (English, French, Greek, Hebrew and Latin). If knowing a foreign language is grounds for having your allegiance questioned then don’t tell the Tea Party that Mr. Tree of Liberty Thomas Jefferson knew SIX languages (English, French, Greek, Italian, Latin and Spanish). Even the Decider himself George W. Bush can partially speak Spanish. Was he un-American? Was his allegiance to Mexico?

Why is knowing more than one language so scary for some people in this country?

We live in one of the most culturally diverse countries in the world but we don’t promote learning another language in this ever increasing globalized world. Most countries in Europe are required to learn another language in school and yet we live in a country where 42 million Americans can’t even read their own language. This is why the rest of the world laughs at us. Can the Republican Party survive five more months of this kind of embarassment from its candidates? Only time will tell. Stay tuned.