For those who do not live in the desert southwest of Arizona, you might find it surprising to see and witness the sheer number of Spanish speaking individuals relocating to the United States from Mexico.

Then again, perhaps you might not find it surprising with the consistent media coverage surrounding the issue of “illegal immigration”. The likelihood is that you periodically hear people where you live speaking Spanish. Spanish is quickly becoming the second most popular language spoken inside this country.

Interestingly, Spanish is the fourth most common language spoken on the planet, after Mandarin Chinese, English, and Hindustani. For a number of years Spanish has been becoming of greater importance in Europe, where it is often the foreign language of choice after English.

There is a great debate and much confusion taking place in the USA regarding the subject of “illegal immigration”, and it’s impact on our country and economy. One of the ways that a common ground can be found or olive branch of peace offered is by us "gringos" taking a step towards becoming multilingual by learning Spanish.

Whether you are for or against "amnesty" or "guest worker programs” is really an independent and separate issue. Americans need to adapt and evolve in this rapidly changing world of ours. This can be achieved by broadening our own horizons and becoming open to people and cultures that we deem to be foreign.

The number of households in this country that are multi-lingual or that speak Spanish as a second language is increasing. The number of tourists who are flocking from the USA to Mexico is also reaching epic proportions.

It seems the one major barrier preventing a meeting of minds and cultures between Americans and our neighbors to the south is the difference in languages spoken. This is rapidly changing, and statistics show that Americans are studying and learning to speak Spanish in record numbers.

There are a number of reasons why we as Americans should embrace our own “Latin” origins and learn to speak Spanish.

We as Americans can not go backwards, we can only progress forwards; that is the only direction there is. America was established to be a melting pot of sorts; a country where people from varying backgrounds, with differing ethnic or racial characteristics, and people from different cultural heritages could come together to live in peace and maintain harmony.

A large percentage of this countries workforce speaks Spanish, and the likelihood is that they will not be going anywhere anytime soon. Speaking Spanish in America, or interacting with people who are bi-lingual or multi-lingual is here to stay.

Give your children’s education an advantage by teaching or learning along with them to speak Spanish as a second language. Teach them that intolerance and racial prejudice do not have any place in a 21st century worldview.

Once you and your children learn to speak Spanish as a second language, you will have a head start in learning any other Latin-based language that might interest you. It will also help you learn Russian or German, since they too have Indo-European roots and have some characteristics that are present in Spanish but not English.

You will find that it is much more fun to be able to think like a local and even knowing a little bit of the language the people you are visiting speak can make travel more enjoyable.

When I travel, I like to be able to immerse myself in the culture I am visiting. It makes travel much easier when one can more clearly see through the eyes of the local population. What happens when you can’t read a sign and you need to ask for directions, or if you would like to ask someone a question.

Tour guides can be useful when traveling, but it’s much more fun to be able to get off the beaten path and venture into areas where crowds of tourists seldom venture.

For a time, a few years ago; I did some Photoshop work for a man who had extensively traveled with his wife throughout northern Mexico; into areas that the majority of tourists shall never see. He had thousands of photographic slides that needed to be scanned into the computer for slight color correction, cropping and editing.

He and his wife would travel down to Mexico, getting to know the locals and traveling off the beaten path. This opened up doorways for him to see places most tourists haven’t gone and also to find extremely reasonable prices on unique, one-of-a-kind handcrafted artwork, necklaces, pottery and sculptures.

It also enabled him to gain lodging with families for close to nothing by our standards and food cooked in the homes of locals the same way it has been for a couple of hundred years. There are people in Mexico who still live without many of the conveniences we think of today as modern.

One thing I learned from him, when traveling off of the beaten path in Mexico is that if you are going to take a locals photograph; you must offer to compensate them with a few dollars.

Mexico is extremely culturally rich when it comes to Christianity or Catholicism, and I truly enjoyed seeing all of his photographs of old churches, missions and mountain villages.

Had he and his wife not known how to speak Spanish fluently, this whole segment of their lives experience may never have taken place.

Nobody speaks another language fluently when they are first starting out.

You will find that it is much more fun to be able to think like a local and even knowing a little bit of the language the people you are visiting speak can make travel more enjoyable.

When I travel, I like to be able to immerse myself in the culture I am visiting. It makes travel much easier when one can more clearly see through the eyes of the local population. What happens when you can’t read a sign and you need to ask for directions, or if you would like to ask someone a question.

Tour guides can be useful when traveling, but it’s much more fun to be able to get off the beaten path and venture into areas where crowds of tourists seldom venture.

For a time, a few years ago; I did some Photoshop work for a man who had extensively traveled with his wife throughout northern Mexico; into areas that the majority of tourists shall never see. He had thousands of photographic slides that needed to be scanned into the computer for slight color correction, cropping and editing.

He and his wife would travel down to Mexico, getting to know the locals and traveling off the beaten path. This opened up doorways for him to see places most tourists haven’t gone and also to find extremely reasonable prices on unique, one-of-a-kind handcrafted artwork, necklaces, pottery and sculptures.

It also enabled him to gain lodging with families for close to nothing by our standards and food cooked in the homes of locals the same way it has been for a couple of hundred years. There are people in Mexico who still live without many of the conveniences we think of today as modern.

One thing I learned from him, when traveling off of the beaten path in Mexico is that if you are going to take a locals photograph; you must offer to compensate them with a few dollars.

Mexico is extremely culturally rich when it comes to Christianity or Catholicism, and I truly enjoyed seeing all of his photographs of old churches, missions and mountain villages.

Had he and his wife not known how to speak Spanish fluently, this whole segment of their lives experience may never have taken place.

Nobody speaks another language fluently when they are first starting out.

There is only one common ground between us all that needs to be acknowledged foremost, that is the Earth beneath our feet. It does not belong to any of us, if anything we belong to it; and owe our planet a debt of gratitude.

Terrorism, Illegal Immigration, and Drugs are three separate issues; they need to be dealt with as such as well as in tandem with each other; under the heading known as “border security”.

Whichever side of these issues you are on, remember; there are real people and real lives involved here – on every side of any issue.

Do yourself, your children, and your worldview a favor and look into learning Spanish as a second language.