Letters to the Editor: Non-English speakers still contribute

In answer to comments made by Glenda Bly (“Richardson’s Spanish debate angers American voter”) in last Sunday’s CNJ, I would like to tell a story about my grandparents.

Guadalupe and Ignacita Martinez (both American citizens), were born and raised here in New Mexico. My grandmother was deaf and my grandfather was seriously hearing impaired, but both led self-sustaining lives, never relying on anyone to support them.

They were hard-working, God-fearing people. Let me add at this point that my grandmother spoke no English and my grandfather spoke little English. They were both respected members of their community.

They led a quiet life raising seven daughters (one of them my mother) and two sons, all of them respected members of their church and community. Both sons worked for the United States government in civil service, one of them serving his country during World War II in the United States Army where he received two separate injuries and was awarded two Purple Heart medals while fighting for our freedoms to do such things as write letters to the editor.

In short, I am proud of who my grandparents were and what they accomplished in spite of their limited language skills, as I am sure they would be proud of me.

Robert O. Sandoval

Clovis

State seeing many benefits from Richardson’s term

First, regarding Glenda Bly’s comments about “King Bill” in her letter last Sunday:

We all know that not everyone agrees with the job he is doing, or the way he is going about it, but New Mexico is better off for his efforts.

The movie industry in the state is growing, and we all know that brings money into the state. Plus, he and others we’ve elected are really making an effort to help bring many different kinds of industries (alternative fuels, wind farms, and space ports, weird as it may seem) to the state. Guess what? This brings money to the state, making for many happy New Mexicans.

So, like him or not, he is doing some good for our state, and he hasn’t legalized the wacky weed.

Second, about the debate in Spanish: What can you expect from someone who has the great experience in foreign affairs that our governor possesses?

We as a nation could really benefit from this kind of experience. I know our troops would really like the help in foreign affairs.

It’s a good thing we speak more than one language here in America because how would the North American Free Trade Agreement work if we only spoke one language?

So my hat’s off to all the French, Japanese, Spanish and yes English teachers who are teaching and helping the world communicate. Maybe one day we can just talk about our problems and keep our guns in their cases. This is the reason for bilingual education across the nation.

Ruben Lucio

Clovis