¡Hola! ¿cómo estás hoy?

Spanish!
Do you realize that this is the native language of the majority of Americans?
True!
Only in Brazil, Canada and the United States is an other language the dominant one.
All the rest of America, North, Central and South all speak Spanish.
I started some reflecting on this as the last evening's First (half) Democratic Debate unfolded. Yes, I did watch - although I only lasted  for the first hour. When you are 80, bedtime can come earlier and so I defer the second hour to the youth of our country. Besides, we have a year and a half to go of this stuff. Can't take too big a dose this early on.
Anyhow, back to the matter at hand - the Spanish language.
Anyone who watched the debate had to note that at times some of the candidates did at least part of their response in Spanish. One of the moderators also at times questioned in Spanish.
Of course a part of that just may have been that this was taking place in Miami where a great majority of citizens are Spanish speaking.
Nevertheless, this also drew the attention to the fact that we have a sizable population who understand Spanish and can be at home with it. They are not to be forgotten or ignored. They are part and parcel of the United States.
Now I know that some folks may take offense when anything other than English is used in situations like these. There seems to be a move afoot that claims we should all speak English all the time. Some, especially these days, tend to forget that we really are a nation of immigrants. Fact is that likely, our ancestors spoke a language other than English when they came to the United States and also likely, they continued to speak that language even as they gradually learned English.
My roots on my mother's side were Slovak and grandma and grandpa spoke it as did at least their older children. Out home parish was Slovak and it was not unusual to sing and pray in Slovak. Maybe we youngsters did not understand it or even try to (shame on us!) but we did it and besides, we also back then prayed in Latin as well!
We were not alone. Italians, Germans, Japanese, Vietnamese, and so many others likewise retained the linguistic ties to their roots.
Even today I often enough encounter folks shopping in the aisles of our grocery stores and speaking to each other in mid-Eastern languages. I hear folks from places like India publicly using their native tongues.
We are a nation of many languages and considering our place in the big picture of Spanish America, it should come as no surprise that we hear that language in our land. A significant portion of the population of the United States as well as a significant number of Catholics among us, while they may speak and understand English, still speak, understand and are at home with Spanish.
I see this as a reflection of the greatness of the United States.
Matter of fact, I believe that I have been inspired and motivated by hearing those speakers last evening move so smoothly between English and Spanish, I have decided to give learning some Spanish a try.
At my age there is little chance of being assigned to a Spanish speaking community. Nevertheless, I just might, somewhere along the line, be able to minister to someone somehow. For whatever reason, I am going to give some Spanish a try.
And, if nothing else, I can always just show off!
So, on to some Spanish sessions and for now
¡Adios!