Years ago (more than I'd care to admit), I discovered that in order to obtain a degree from Fort Hays State University in the discipline I'd chosen, I'd have to complete basic training in a foreign language. At the time, I was frustrated by another requirement and more money I'd have to spend in order to obtain a piece of paper that would eventually hang in an 8-by-11 frame on any given wall.

Looking down the list initially, I have to say that I was disappointed by the low number of language avenues that I could stroll down, but realistically understood why this was so...

I can't count on my two hands the number of times I've heard people say that they learned all they needed to learn by the time they left grade school. I'm not quite sure of the accuracy of that statement, but I will admit to having learned a considerable amount in those days.

One of the lifelong lessons that was introduced in grade school was something that you could call a national point of pride, the puritan spirit. It's the idea that one of the common threads that carried us through the colonial and revolutionary periods was an independence to shape or mold your own destiny through the freedoms afforded to us from many sources. It's a common saying of course, but as children we perhaps all heard that we could be astronauts, or firefighters, or perhaps even the president of the United States.

What happened to that America?

Permit me, if you will, to take a divergence from our affairs and look outward. For it seems that we are not the only nation in the world struggling with the problems related to immigration.

In the United Kingdom a former attorney general, Lord Goldsmith, concluded in a study on citizenship commissioned by Prime Minister Gordon Brown that British teenagers and newcomers should take an oath of loyalty to the queen to give them a sense of "belonging."

In an effort to bolster his line up with a few all-stars, it was reported yesterday that John McCain enlisted the aide of Karl Rove and Ken Mehlman. Let us leave aside the issues that this draws Senator McCain dangerously closer to the Bush administration, because what perplexes me is why they would join the former maverick's roster in the first place.

Maybe it's because they both saw Senator McCain's latest ad and laughed out loud as I did. I'm not quite sure what to draw from the ad, but it seems that Winston Churchill and Teddy Roosevelt are endorsing Senator McCain from the grave.