It was August, 2008 when I posted one of my first blog entries, a video of an interview between CBS’s Harry Smith and Henry Cejudo , a recent Olympic gold medal winner in free-style wrestling.  I was so moved by this account of the young Latino, a son of undocumented immigrants, and his love for his country –the United States of America, that I posted the video with no comments of my own.  The image of this young man proudly wrapping himself in the Stars and Stripes seemed to say it all.

That posting was one of my first efforts to challenge the cruel stereotypes often put forth by the Anglo-American community that can at times be quite insensitive.

About three years ago, at age 60, I started teaching a beginning level ESL (English as Second Language) class.  It is possible to teach English to a Spanish-speaking student without knowing his or her first language.  Many have learned English that way.

Nonetheless,  I wanted to know how difficult it  is  to learn a second language as an adult.  So I began learning Spanish.  While my progress in my second language has been good, I have to tell you that it takes a lot of effort.

Yet I can honestly say that this  has proved to be one of the most rewarding experiences of my adult life. The Latino community continues to grow in my city, and there are many opportunities to practice my second language.  We also have a variety of Latin American restaurants and I enjoy ordering my meals in Spanish (which is probably more confusing to my bilingual servers than if I spoke English).

When you learn a language, you begin to learn a culture.  Whether Colombian, Peruvian, Venezuelan, Ecuadorian, Argentinean, Central American  or Mexican, my Latino friends are warm and hospitable.  They know how to celebrate God’s blessings, great or small.

To me they are not a they, but an attractive part of a larger we — all of God’s children.

Many of my Anglo counterparts are clearly threatened by different cultures and languages.  Far too often, they are prone to racist statements that are reminiscent of the slurs against the African-American families of past decades.  And for many, there is the desire to somehow dismiss them as unworthy of our respect.

It’s not enough for our country to be a country of laws.  The time is long overdue for us to be a people of heart.