Press One For English

"Press One for English" seems to get a lot of Americans upset. I read or hear things like, "If you can't speak English, you shouldn't move to America." "We're Americans we should only speak English" blahblahblah

I think these are the same Americans who go to Europe and expect everyone over there to speak English and don't bother taking a phrase book with them. Seriously, why would anyone expect everyone in say Italy to be able to speak English when hardly anyone in America can speak Italian?

I don't have an aptitude for languages. I have tried to learn Spanish, German, and Russian. When I lived in LA, I tried really hard to speak in Spanish to those who couldn't speak English. I studied Spanish for six years when I was in school. With that much study, a person ought to be able to have a simple conversation, but I can't. I totally suck at learning a new language.

So, for those people who have immigrated to America, but can't speak English. Cut them so slack. For some people it isn't easy to learn a new language. They know that being able to speak English would make their lives a lot easier here in America. If they could, they would speak English.