CBS News ran an encouraging story headlined, “Florida mandates driver’s license tests must be taken in English, eliminates other languages.” That was fast.
Starting February 6th, all driver’s license tests in the Sunshine State will only be administered in English, including commercial and non-commercial types. Coincidentally, my 16-year-old recently took his driver’s license test (in English). Afterward, he reported that it wasn’t hard.
But it’s probably somewhat harder if you don’t read English. Lo siento mucho! But this is a safety issue. If people can’t even read the test, how can they read the traffic signs?
This story is a great example of the overwhelming effect of the successful conservative counter-revolution. Just a few years ago, you can imagine how it would have made international news, drawing furious condemnations from activist groups, the United Nations, and people with unpronounceable names. Articles about Florida’s exam change would have been thick as ticks with claims of racism, xenophobia, and would have been packed to the gills with tragic interviews with the victims.
But with the frantic pace of events, there is no bandwidth to get outraged over a de facto language requirement to drive. And Florida made the change lightning-fast, without a long lead-up of public debate and hand-wringing.
The result was that CBS just reported it straight, more like a public service advisory than anything else. We’ve come a long way.
