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PC: Many just don't understand how the U.S. works. They come from societies that are very paternalistic, centralized, and statist and don't understand that the United States was intended to be run from the bottom up instead of from the top down; that individual citizens can make things happen; that citizens have responsibilities as well as rights. But then again, that's something a lot of Americans don't understand. When I moved to Miami a few years ago, I started teaching U.S. politics at the University of Miami part-time. Most of my students didn't know the most basic things about our country's founding or constitutional principles, federalism, separation of powers, etc. And these were bright, middle and upper middle-class, non-Hispanic college kids. When I later fell into Spanish language media, I realized there was an even greater need for learning about basic American history and principles in the Hispanic community.

How important -- or unimportant, I suppose -- do you believe it is for Hispanics not to be viewed as a single, massive bloc?

PC: Hispanics are incredibly diverse, so it's tough to say all Hispanics are this way or that way. While many vote Democrat, Hispanics are increasingly registering as independents, and, generally speaking, tend to be culturally and socially conservative. Hispanics are primarily Christian and religious. Catholic, mostly, but also evangelical increasingly. Nearly 50 percent of Hispanic Americans own their own homes. They are also entrepreneurial. There about two million Hispanic-owned businesses in the United States, far more than any other minority group. Hispanics join the military in large numbers, too. American history is filled with Hispanic military heroes, including 42 Medal of Honor winners. Those aren't exactly Democrat demographics -- something both parties should keep in mind. George W. Bush received more than 40 percent of the Hispanic vote in 2004. Other Republicans have done equally well. Arnold Schwarzenegger carried 39 percent of the Hispanic vote in his re-election race in California and Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison won 44 percent of Hispanics in Texas.

On Capitol Hill recently you argued, "You can be a patriotic American and also speak Spanish." Why do you think language is such a flash point for controversy and how do we get beyond that?

PC: It's a bit of a cliche, but we fear what we don't understand. I also think many see it as part of a "takeover" of the U.S. by Hispanics. And it's not just Sam Huntington at Harvard or Lou Dobbs at CNN who talks about it. Jorge Ramos of Univision TV calls it the "Latino Wave." Univision, the global Spanish-language network, is one of America's largest networks and the Spanish media is growing daily in the U.S. But even if I think the fear is overblown, I still wholeheartedly understand the concern. Many Anglos in Miami felt forced to move north because Spanish has become so prevalent here. I can sympathize when someone says, "Why do I need to speak Spanish to order dinner at a restaurant in the United States?" They shouldn't. Hispanics have to learn English, respect and adapt. Period.

At the same time Spanish is one of the world's richest languages and the third most widely spoken language in the world after Chinese and English and ahead of Arabic. It's spoken by nearly 400 million people worldwide, including 30 million in the United States. Why would we want our citizens cut off from that? In today's global economy we have a tremendous asset in our Spanish-speaking citizens. Being fluent in Spanish helped me immeasurably when I was posted to Venezuela as a U.S. military attache and later as an international consultant. We need to make sure everyone learns English but also ensure all Americans have some understanding of a second language, especially Spanish. It's not so scary if you're at least familiar with it, and Spanish is a whole lot easier to learn than Chinese or Arabic!

Traveling in Venezuela last year I found that for every red-festooned Chavista lecturing about U.S. imperialism there were two who would ask what life was like here and even for tips on how to immigrate. I see Civica Americana plans to "promote and explain America's values in Latin America and Spain." What will your work in the international arena be like?

PC: Our international component is very important. I was at the U.S. embassy just before Chavez was elected for the first time in 1998 and went back to Venezuela numerous times afterwards as a consultant and warned constantly about Chavez's communist and authoritarian leanings and rabid anti-Americanism. Chavez is funding a massive anti-American propaganda effort throughout the region that builds on the extensive network Fidel Castro and the Soviets constructed over the past 50 years to exploit historic and latent anti-"Yankee" sentiment. Civica Americana hopes to help counter that propaganda with programs and partnerships in Latin America and Spain that will provide accurate, straightforward education about America's history, founding ideals, and political and economic system. We are unique in that we will be using successful, bilingual Hispanic Americans as goodwill ambassadors. It's a lot easier to sell America in the region as a Hispanic immigrant or child of immigrants who made it in America.

What would you most like America to know about Hispanic immigrants and vice versa?

PC: America should understand that over time most Hispanics become just as American as everyone else. We need to encourage that process, not retard it by unnecessarily harsh rhetoric. Meanwhile, Hispanics need to know that we can all be proud of our countries or cultures of origin, but we have to appreciate, understand and respect that this country was based on an Anglo culture and tradition that helped shape its institutions and that's why it works as well as it does.

American Spectator Contributing Editor Shawn Macomber is writing a book on the Global Class War.

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