Here in the United States we have a saying. It's "USA #1." It's a sensible saying, but I'd add a little phrase onto the end of it if I were asked, and that little phrase would be: "American language #1".
Oh sure, foreigners will accuse us of arrogance, and "intellectuals" will deride our self-confidence and justifiable pride as ignorance. But, anyone with a brain in their gourd can look around the USA and see that #1 is what we are, and that the American language is #1 also.
Few people will deny that the USA is #1 at producing movies, for example. All over the world people flock to their local movie theatres or movie rental places, to get a look at what kind of great stuff has been produced in Hollywood...in American. Some countries will lamely dub the movies into whatever gibberish passes for their native language, but the smarter ones leave the movies in American, and just stick sub-titles on the screen. That way the viewer can get a feel of what's really happening. Can you imagine Clint Eastwood saying "Go ahead, make my day" in swahili, and it still having the same impact?
We're also #1 at NASCAR racing, rodeo,airplane production, and glam-metal---no other country can say that...especially with an American accent. Our American thoughts, thought in American, translate into our American actions. Our American actions define our place in world history.
Today's young Americans have a lot to learn. They need to understand science and mathematics and computer stuff and business, well enough to not only succeed, but completely obliterate their competitors from foreign lands. Wasting their time by insisting they learn a language that isn't the dominant language in math, science and business, in order to "play nice" with people they are trying to beat, just doesn't make sense. Japanese business men spend thousands of Yen and hours trying to learn American. It would be inefficient for us to be simultaneously trying to learn Japanese.
Karl Albrecht, although German, succinctly stated: "Change your language, and you change your thoughts." Do we Americans want to change our American thoughts into German thoughts? Federico Fellini, a sort of stoner/ pornographer/ non-American, said "a different language is a different vision of life." Well, five minutes of "Satyricon" is all most people need to know that whether it's "Dirty Harry", or "Poison", or Dale Earnhardt, American language gives all the vision anyone needs, to succeed.
